PMD 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards
by ShadowMasterKizone
Summary: The title is apparently too long. Anyway, on with the summary. Team Cruel is actively murdering Pokemon. Is there no end to their reign of terror? Can anyone save the world?
1. Chapter 1

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 1 - A World in Chaos

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<em>

_The universe works in mysterious ways. 5 years ago, a youth by the name of Reona came from her world to the World of Pokemon. She had awoken in a forest as a Vulpix where as she was originally human. There she also met up with a timid and somewhat quiet Riolu named Jun. This fated meeting soon brought together new adventures for the both of them, meeting new Pokemon, seeing new places, and going on new missions as a Exploration Team. Upon their journey, however, they soon came across the well known and very dangerous Team Cruel._

_Team Cruel, once born and thought to be normal Pokemon, but now have become corrupt and evil; even to the point of destroy their once beautiful homes, killing their families and exfriends. They now walk the planet, searching for power in order to become gods and killing all who try to get in their way._

_During the creation of the universe, the almight Pokemon of Alpha created 5 powerful shards, each containing a fifth of the Pokemon's power and gave them to 5 chosen Pokemon who have promised since these times to guard the shards with their lives. It is said that if one with a pure heart claims the shards, the world will turn to a golden age where war will cease to exist; but if one with an evil mind claims the shards, the world will be turned into a place of never ending torture and darkness...a vision which Team Cruel foresees._

_Today, Reona has returned to her world and has grown up, but the memories as a Vulpix have to leave her; the same can be said for Jun, who now leads Team Element in replacement of their previous hardheaded leader. Even though the fall of the army within the desert has brought about some peace, no one is truly safe..._

_~Transition~  
>~A wild Zangoose's POV~<em>

Tired... So very tired... I've been running for hours... Running away from the laughing nightmare that followed me. I was just simply enjoying some time with my mate until that Toxicroak jumped in and suddenly attacked. My mate... she fought her last fight with me... Why? Why did she have to die? Why couldn't it have been me?

"You want it to be you? Then stop running," the sinister voice laughed as it came closer.

I sped up my pace, making every desperate attempt to avoid that ghostly voice. But my legs were more than ready to betray me; to collapse from exhaustion. Where were the Exploration Teams when you needed them!

And then, it happened. My legs finally gave out. I was so tired that all I could do was crawl. Crawl like a sorry weakling, or Seviper. I was so close to a good hiding place, I just had to press on. All of a sudden, my body froze. I suddenly couldn't move. Red goo began to form around where my body was. It was...blood! My blood! My vision blurred and my breathing slowed as I slowly fell victim to death...

_~Maria's POV~_

"Pfft. What a wuss," I taunted at the dead Zangoose. "This guy was no better a challenge than his lame brained mate."

As I taunted aloud, Toxic came with his hands bloody and with smashed egg yolks on his feet.

"I killed a couple of Pidgeotto and smashed their eggs. Fresh eggs for breakfast!" Toxic shouted, laughing at his own success.

"So where is our big boss this time?" I asked Toxic as I ripped out the Zangoose's heart.

"Depends... What are you doing with that heart?" Toxic asked back.

"I collect them. You know how love is often connected to the heart? Well, I think its about time to CRUSH LOVE!" I laughed maniacly as I crushed thge heart, making blood fly everywhere, covering me in it.

"...Right. Anyway..." Toxic said.

"Cruel went somewhere. I don't know honestly. Our orders as now the Team Cruel Organization, consisting of 40+ members, was to cause as much chaos as we could possibly," I giggled with anticipiation.

"Sounds good to me. And with no Exploration Teams, we're homefree!" Toxic laughed.

Despite how much I get annoyed by him, he was right to laugh...so I joined his evil laughter.

_~Transition~  
>~Kizone's POV~<em>

I, along with nearly every other Exploration Team leader, was in a meeting with Samurott who was pacing, holding a claw to his chin.

"Samurott! Why are we just sitting here!" a Shiny Froslass argued.

"Yes, we need fight back. No sit here," A Rhyperior stated.

Everyone began a huge arguement over the fate of our poor planet.

"Worldwide, our homes are being attacked by the forces of Team Cruel," Samurott finally said. "5 years ago, we set our attention mostly on Kramzak, unaware of Cruel's true intentions. While we were fighting the war, Cruel was recruiting and reuniting some Pokemon members in order to get to this point in time. He has hit several highly populated areas and has claimed so many lives in only 2 whole days. If this keeps up, we are looking at a crisis."

"Sir, I agree completely. That's why we must make a retaliation immediately," I suggested, getting many positive votes for the decision.

"...What are all the places that remain safe?" Samurott asked an admin, which was a Dodrio, standing beside him.

"Pokemon Town, Treasure Town, here, and some others," the Dodrio replied.

"I see. Alright," Samurott said before turning back to us. "All Exploration Teams! Your order is simple: bring down Team Cruel at all costs!"

"YES SIR!" we all shouted in unison.

"Dismissed!"

_~Transition~  
>~Cruel's POV~<em>

The world is beginning to fear us now. Those Exploration Teams are at a loss on decision. And even if they were to retaliate, they are still at a loss. This battle will end in a bloodshed, and once the world is turned into a massive graveyard, those shards will be as good as mine.

"You really think its that simple?" a voice said.

A being glowing of pure light appeared before me...the one that many recognized as Arceus, creator the world and beyond.

"Arceus, I welcome you. Your arrival is most fortunate," I said, smiling at the bright one.

"Cruel. You've plagued the world for so long that it even has frightened me to no end," Arceus said truthfully. "I'm not here for idle chitchat. I am here to do away with you as I've done with other being with wicked hearts like yours."

I simply chuckled at the goddess. "You're bold...just as that brat I met 5 years ago. Reona. But now that she's gone, no one can stop me," I said, clenching a tentacle.

"Not as long as I still stand here," Arceus said, keeping her ground.

"Very well, Arceus, but you have signed your death warrant," I said, cracking all my tentacles.

An almighty master versus an almighty goddess. Not such a hard fight at all. Arceus flew into the air used her Judgement attack as her first move. Despite the incredibly powerful move hitting the ground, it was doing nothing to it, not even leaving craters.

I blasted away many of her meteors of justice using only Hydro Pump. Angered, Arceus used Thunder as her next attack which I let hit me. Then once I was stunned, she used Hyper Beam as her finishing move. Satisfied, she relaked back on the ground.

But I wasn't dead yet. I quickly lashed out my tentacles and got a strong grip of her.

"Hahahaha!" I laughed evilly at her. "Such weak attempts to destroy me. Even the most powerful being alive couldn't even touch me."

"But...how? I hit you with a move that was super effective against your kind. How can you be still standing!" Arceus shouted at me.

I walked slowly toward her. Then after a small and very silent stare at each other, I stabbed my tentacle into Arceus' thigh, making her cry out in pain. The first physical pain she has felt in centuries.

"Now where might your heart be? I want to see if it is even possible to crush a god's heart," I asked retorically.

I dug my tentacle deeper into Arceus' body, making even cough out blood. I soon began to feel something move; it was her heart.

"A ha," I said triumphantly, making Arceus gasp.

I made a tight knot around the heart and began to squeeze it, making Arceus scream in so much pain.

"Just so you know, THIS IS WHY THEY CALL ME CRUEL!" I laughed as I made more to Arceus.

As I laughed and tortured Arceus, I didn't notice another Pokemon nearby. I definitely did not see the attack coming at all.

"GAH!" I shouted as my tentacle was forcefully cut off.

I looked to my side to see a dark 6-legged Pokemon. Giratina. Because I was no longer attached to my tentacle that was still inside of Arceus, it evaporated into darkness, floating away into the abyss. Before I could make a move, two other attacks hit me, forcing me to let go of Arceus.

I looked in the air to see the other two Pokemon of the Creation Trio, Palkia and Dialga.

"Leave her alone!" Dialga shouted at me, glaring.

Palkia charged up a Spacial Rend (which I assume was one of the attacks that hit me earlier) and readied to shoot it. The attack is strong enough now to defeat me if I were to do anything. So I simply decided to retreat for now.

"You've not seen the last of me, Legendary Pokemon," I said before disappearing.

_~Dialga's POV~_

Palkia and I descended to the ground now that Cruel was gone and quickly ran to her aid.

"She's hurt badly, but thankfully, she's still alive," Giratina stated.

This made Palkia and I sigh in relief. "Thank goodness," she then said.

"...G-Giratina...Dialga...P...Palkia..." Arceus suddenly said, weak on breath. "We need...to go...and...bring her...back..."

"Her? You mean Reona?" I asked, now strangely confused.

Arceus did not reply. She simply coughed out blood, frightening us.

"Dialga. Palkia. I think she's right," Giratina suddenly said. "Reona maybe needed here after all. Ugh. Why were we such ignorant assholes and sent her back anyway?"

"It was Arceus' decision. She wasn't ready to take the responibility yet," Palkia said softly.

"Whatever the case, we may as well take Arceus and head to the human world," I suggested, recieving nods from my two...frenemies.

Palkia, being the only one with arms, agreed to carry Arceus while Giratina, being a master of dimensions, created a portal that lead directly to the real world.

"It might be wise to go into disguise so we won't draw any unnecessary attention," I said.

"We'll do it on the way. Arceus, can you still transform?" Giratina asked.

Arceus made a barely noticable nod, and struggled with the pain of her thigh.

"We need to hurry," I said.

"Right!"

Palkia, carrying precious cargo, went first, then Giratina, and then myself. Once I entered, the portal closed behind me.

_~Transition~  
>~Cruel's POV~<em>

The world is now burning. No one shall survive my power. My rule. Not even that that pathetic Team Element. HAHAHAHAHA!

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	2. Chapter 2

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 2 - Reona's Return

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Zoro's POV~_

My mistress was out and about once more, leaving me to the apartment alone. Normally a Pokemon would break something and go "puppy eyes" to its trainer, begging for forgiveness. But I was not one of those Pokemon; I was smart enough not to break a dang thing. What I was doing was cleaning the dishes from last night and this morning.

I sighed as I looked at the plate I was currently cleaning. "I know mistress told me to wait for her to return from her summer job but come on!" I complained. Before I slammed anything on my head, I placed the plate gently on the tray. Then I banged my head on the metal pipe. "Ow. Should not do that ever again."

Suddenly, a strange smell caught my nostrils. It was the familiar scent of blood, but it seemed...out of dimension. I followed the scent to the living room where my instincts told me to stay out. I listened to instincts and hid behind the wall.

After a moment, a portal opened in the center of the living room. Four mysterious human came out of the portal, making growl under my throat.

The first human was a female who wore a pink shirt and white shorts and had a white bow in her red hair and white bracelets with pearls encrested in them. Her pink shoes with white strings were really fitting with the rest of her.

The second human was also female. She dressed royally with a silver ballroom gown with gold stripes going it, white arm length gloves, silver hair with gold strips on the sides and a crown encrusted with diamonds, pearls, and platinum. She also seemed severely injured as the scent of blood was coming from her.

The third human was a male who wore a black shirt with a blue jacket, blue jeans, and blue shoes. He also wore a black bracelet encrusted with diamonds.

The final human was also a male. He wore a black and red striped shirt with gray pants, gold curves on his arms, red shoes with black laces, and a platinum bracelet.

Once the final appeared, the portal closed.

"Sit here and we'll fetch you some water," the pink human said, laying the royal human on the couch.

I jumped out from behind the wall and blocked the human's way.

"A Zoroark," the blue human said, surprised.

"You better have a good reason for coming into my mistress's house when she isn't here," I growled at the humans.

"We didn't mean to intrude. We were desperate," the pink human said, seemingly understanding me.

"I don't care. Get out!" I roared angrily, giving a final warning.

Suddenly, the hurt human's eyes began to glow. My body froze quickly at the sight of this. As if this human had some sort of control over me, I stopped growling and stood upright.

"What was that?" I asked.

"That was her way of telling you that we are not enemies," the pink human said.

"We'll explain later, but first we must attend to our friend," the blue human said.

I walked out of the way, allowing the pink human to run and get a glass of water for their injured friend. While they were busy, snuck my to the phone to call my mistress.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

"...Snore...Snore..."

I was totally asleep. Relaxing so much in the Pinwheel Forest made me so drowsy that I fell asleep and have been asleep for nearly an hour. That is, until my phone rang.

"...Hello?" I said, wiping the sleepy's out of my eyes.

"{Mistress, its me, Zoro}," the person on the other line.

"Oh hey Zoro. What goes on?" I asked while stretching.

"{Um... Well... You... You should probably get home now...}" Zoro said relunctantly.

"Why?" I asked.

Zoro told me and I let out an earthshaking "WHAAAAAT!" After hanging up, I climbed on my bike and quickly rode my way home. Did I mention I was mad?

_~Transition~_

After riding my way home (and causing a serious injury to some guy with my bike), I busted through the door, not really happy to see intruders.

"Um...hi, mistress," Zoro said nervously.

"You four! Get out of my apartment!" I shouted angrily.

"Are you Reona?" the blue guy asked.

"I SAID GET OUT!" I repeated, louder this time. "...wait. How do you know my name?"

The strangely dressed lady panted harshly as she raised a hand. She signalled me to sit down.

"...5 years ago...a human went to the...Pokemon world...and searched for answers as of why...she became a Pokemon..." the lady began, getting my attention. "...She soon saved...the world...by defeating...Reshiram...and getting her help... This was you...Reona..."

"How do you know all of that?" I asked, now a bit scared.

"...we may not seem like it...but we are Legendary Pokemon...I am Arceus...Pokemon creator of the world you were once on..." the lady introduced.

"Arceus!" I shouted, now really scared. "Then forgive my rudeness."

"No. Forgive our rudeness," the pink girl said. "We needed a place to hide so that way Arceus could recover from her fight with Cruel."

"Cruel! Cruel did this to you!" I shouted, coughing afterward. "Ahem. Sorry. I've been screaming all day so my throat's getting sore."

"Yes. Cruel did this. He was too much for Arceus and all her ferociousness to handle," the blue guy said.

"Before we become any more of a bother, let's introduce ourselves first before explaining the whole story," the gray guy suggested. "I am Giratina."

"I'm Palkia," the pink girl said.

"And I'm Dialga," the blue guy said.

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Reona and this is my trusty Zoroark, Zoro," I introduced. "Let's help your friend first. If that gash isn't fixed up, the massive blood loss could eventually make Arceus faint."

I walked to one of the upper shelves to retrieve my personal medkit. Once I had the kit, I placed it on the coffee table in the living room and got out some body bandages.

"Arceus? Can I ask you to stand up?" I asked.

Arceus nodded and struggled to get up from her seat. With a little support from Dialga and some help from Palkia, I wrapped the Alpha Pokemon's opened wound with the bandages, taking about 6 circles around her hip. Once that was over, Arceus sat back down.

"One last thing," I said, going back in the kitchen. I came back with a fresh bottle of Max Potion. "This should heal you up in a jiffy. I just needed to cover the wound because this can contaminate your blood stream or worse."

I sprayed the Potion on her covered wound, making her twitch. "It stings..." Arceus whined softly.

"It may, but it works. It WILL heal you to full health," I assured her, spraying the Potion until it was empty.

Arceus stood up again, this time with better ease, and began stretching. "Oh my! I feel better! A LOT BETTER!" she shouted happily.

"Glad to hear it," I said, smiling. "Now. What happened to you?"

"Ah yes. My apologies," Arceus blushed as she sat back down. "I should probably start from the beginning. For a while now, most of us were enjoying the peace that you left us with after the final trial was over with. But the peace only lasted for 5 years. Team Cruel began to actively kill innocent Pokemon along with their recruits they've been gathering over the years. At first I thought this was something the FET could handle, but it wasn't. It was far worse than I imagined. And I fear that if something is not done, we could very well be seeing the end of our existence forever."

"So Cruel is plotting to destroy the world or rule it or whatever," I said. "What of Pokemon Town?"

"It remains intact and every resident is still living their lives as if nothing is happening," Giratina said.

"Then perhaps its time for me to visit an old friend of mine," I said.

"I'm sorry, Reona, but you have a more important mission than just Cruel," Arceus stated, ruining my fant- I mean plan... "Despite not being there to see it, I can sense the other Pokemon. They are being captured in cages by multiple Golett."

"Aw. So my reunion has to wait," I whined. I then mumbled swears before pouting.

"Sigh. Once a child always a child I suppose," Arceus sighed, thinking I didn't hear her.

"Mistress. I know this is your responsibility and all, but I wish to stick by your side this time," Zoro offered. "I will not allow you to go in alone."

"...Well. Alright. If you want to come...he can, can't he?" I asked Arceus.

"Of course. We need all the help we can get," she said with a nod.

"Awesome. Don't worry, Arceus. We'll handle the rescuing and all, you just rest here and recover," I suggested kindly.

"Very well," Arceus agreed to my offer. "Giratina, take her to the World of Pokemon."

"Yes, ma'am," Giratina said politely.

Giratina opened a portal in the center of the living room. Zoro and I jumped into it, with Giratina soon following. As we were guided through the stream that is the universal rift, my body undergone a transformation; though it did feel familiar, it also felt weird.

_~Transition~_

After exiting the portal, Giratina, now no longer in human form, placed us on the ground. I took a good look at my surroundings and then myself. Instead of orange fur with brown collision going to my feet, I had cream-colored fur. I turned behind me to find nine flowing tails, each tipped with light orange collision with my cream colored fur.

"Okay. Now this is odd. Why am I a Ninetales?" I asked Giratina.

"Seeing as you have matured over the years, Arceus that it would be natural to make you evolve into any Vulpix's next state, the Ninetales," Giratina explained. "You still have your old attacks, but in this form, they are far stronger than they were when you were a Vulpix."

"That makes sense. Pokemon that evolve become fairly stronger and have higher chance of winning than their pre-evolutions," I said. I looked at my surroundings again. "You guys weren't kidding when we would see chaos here."

"Yeah. I'd hate to see it during Halloween," Zoro joked.

"If you head that direction, you'll come across the prison made by the Pokemon, but now used by Cruel. There, you'll find the FET," Giratina explained. "Your mission is simple: Rescue the Federation and rescue anyone else that you can."

"Got it. Ready, Zoro?" I asked.

"I was born ready," Zoro said, cracking his knuckles.

We then raced to the prison, ready to kick some Tentacruel butt.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	3. Chapter 3

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 3 - Break Out!

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Jun's POV~_

I am Jun. Now leader of Team Element, I do everything in my power to preserve the peace. After Reona left, I had concentrated more on my skills and knowledge, training myself until blood began to show on my knees and elbows; but not even that stopped me. I soon achieved evolution, enabling me to get even stronger. But without Reona, the team that I remember it as vanished. And now, with Team Cruel on the loose, things just seem like they will never get better.

_~A hour ago~_

"What! What do you mean you're not coming back?" I shouted at my old Glaceon friend.

"I told you, Jun. I'm not coming back. Without Reona, our Exploration Team has no confidence in itself," Ethereal said, not looking me in the face.

"But what about the people who are depending on us? What about them!" I shouted angrily.

"Read my lips, Jun. IT. IS. HOPE. LESS," Ethereal said, looking down. "Jun. Just...leave me alone. I really don't feel like discuss anything with you today. Just...never come back."

The door shut in front of me, leaving me with very few options.

_~Current Time~_

I think its time I settled the score, once and for all. You and me, Cruel. No more blood shall be shed by your tentacles ever again!

_~Transition~  
>~Maria's POV~<em>

Toxic and I watched as the Lucario brat passed by with a determined look on his face.

"Hehehe. Looks like Jun has come to play," I stated.

"Let's give him a nice warm welcome," Toxic said, pounding his fists, ready to kill something. As was I of course.

We followed the twerp, ready to kill him.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

Zoro and I hid in the bushes to see the Golett carry cages full of Pokemon.

"Those poor Pokemon," I said, feeling pity for the trapped and wounded. "We've got help them."

"Got a plan?" Zoro asked.

"..." I smiled at Zoro with a sort of devilish smile.

"What?" he asked me with a confused look.

_~A moment later~_

"Are sure this is going to work?" Zoro, now in disguise as a Golett, asked.

"What? Are you doubting your Illusion ability?" I taunted, getting him riled up.

"I am not. I'm doubting your plan," Zoro said. I gave a slug to the head, making him very dazed. "Ow..."

"Got any doubts now?" I asked, clenching a paw.

"Nope. Not at all," Zoro said, standing up.

He walked into the "minefield" of Golett, making sure he wasn't discovered. He soon walked up to the supposed leader.

"Um. Hello, sir?" Zoro called.

"What is it, slacker?" the Golett asked.

"I'm curious. Where are we taking these prisoners?" Zoro asked.

"To the Cavern Base. Lord Cruel wishes for us to keep these test subjects alive for their experimentation," the Golett explained. "And to answer your follow up question, no, I do not know what kinds of experiments Lord Cruel is doing on them."

Experiments? That doesn't sound good.

"Although, Lord Cruel isn't at the base... He's currently at his private lab, trying to create some sort...I don't know...syrup, I really don't know and don't care," the Golett continued.

"Hey! Let go of me!" a voice shouted.

Another Golett came from behind the prison holding a shiny Kirlia with a blue baseball cap. She was struggling to get free.

"I found this pest stalking our progress. She might be a spy of the FET," the Golett said.

"A spy eh? Then let's teach her a lesson," the Golett leader said, cracking his knuckles.

Zoro looked at me, as if curious on what our next move was. We couldn't exactly go without saving that poor Kirlia so we decided to do just that. I nodded at Zoro, signalling him to attack.

"Hey, chief," Zoro said, tapping his shoulder.

"What is it?" the Golett leader said, turning back to Zoro.

In a single second after that question, Zoro, no longer as a Golett, stabbed his claw into the Golett's chest, causing him to deactivate (or die in a sort of computive way). The other Golett noticed this and dropped the cages to corner Zoro.

"Flamethrower!" I shouted, jumping from the bushes.

My old stream of fire deactivated some of the Golett, causing them to fall. Zoro stabbed the Golett holding the Kirlia, forcing him to let go.

"Cover your eyes!" I ordered swiftly. Zoro and the Kirlia closed their eyes just as I readied my favorite move. "Confuse Ray!"

The attack blinded and confused the Golett leading them to defeat and deactivate each other until one was left stand; and even it deactivated itself. What a moron. The Kirlia turned to us with a smile.

"Hi! Thanks for saving my butt," the Kirlia said in an energetic voice.

"You're welcome, but why are you here?" I asked.

"Well... I was simply taking a stroll when I noticed these creeps taking Pokemon in cages down that road over there," the Kirlia pointed at the path. "I don't know what's going on, but it doesn't sound friendly."

"...Okay. You should head home now. Grown-ups like us have very important stuff to do," I said.

"Stay out of trouble," Zoro said before we made our way toward and through the path.

_~the Kirlia's POV~_

_Did she...they just...baby me! Ohhh! NOW I'm mad! No one baby's Soara (that's me) and get's away with it!_

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

Zoro and I arrived at the cave entrance where we heard a lot of screams and shouts from within.

"Looks like we're on the right track," Zoro stated.

"Let's get going before Cruel makes plans coming here," I said, running into the cave.

"Right."

The cave itself wasn't so bad. There were really weak Pokemon everywhere, like Raticate and Golbat; hardly much of a challenge. It wasn't until much deeper that we started getting some challenge from exploding Electrode.

We finally made it to the near end of the cave. Here, we heard some strange buzzing. Something flew in front of us. It was...a GRAY BEEDRILL!

"Huh? Who is this?" Zoro asked.

I took a closer look to see a medal on the Beedrill. It had kramzak's face on it.

"This is...was...no way..." I said in disbelief. "Javaline."

"Kill...kill...kill..." Javaline repeated continously as she readied her stingers.

"I sense a fight," Zoro stated, readying his claws.

Javaline flew at us at full speed, not slowing down at all.

"Night Slash!" Zoro called out, his claws glowing a bright red.

In a single slash, Javaline's wing was cut off. But just as we were about to let our guard down, Javaline's wing grew back, fixing itself.

"Whoa. That's new..." I said.

Javaline turned back to us and raced at us again. I used my Flamethrower to scorch her arm off, dodging the attack, but just like her wing, her arm grew back as well.

"Since when did Beedrill have the ability to regenerate?" Zoro asked, now really shocked.

"Never. I have my suspicions that Cruel is behind this. And whatever else he done to her, made her literally lose her mind," I stated, putting the pieces together.

"What do you mean?" Zoro asked.

"What we are looking at is a truly dead Pokemon. A Pokemon with no soul and no heart," I concluded.

Javaline flew at me once more, this time with a readied attack.

"I really hate to have to do this, but I've got to bring her back to the ground once again," I said. "Blast...BURN!"

I shot a powerful stream of fire at the zombified Javaline, causing her body to evaporate into dust under the sheer force of power I was using.

"Whoa. Was that Blast Burn? I didn't know Ninetales could use that move," Zoro said, impressed by my performance.

"They...can't... But I'm no ordinary Ninetales," I said, catching my breath.

Our ears twitched at the sound of struggling Pokemon, helping us refocus our attention.

In the next room, we found a lot of cages hold tons of Pokemon; some of which recognized me; and a strange monitor.

"Reona! Dear girl is that you!" a familiar voice called.

I walked to one of the cages to find a trapped Gligar inside. "Bandit? Is that you?" I asked.

"Oh I knew it was you girl! I just knew it!" Bandit shouted happily.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"Well. Business got a bit rough, let's put it that way," Bandit said. He then turned to a Pokemon sleeping behind him. "No thanks to that lazy Ariados over there."

"Kumo?" I asked. "He looks awful. What happened to him?"

"He quit the Federation because Team Charm took some credit over the victory against Kramzak's army and well...it reduced him to being my drunk bodyguard..." Bandit said shamefully. "Ugh. He's a good buddy of mine and all, but I am in a pretty good mood in firing him. I'd hate to do that to the poor guy."

"...Maybe I can talk some sense into the guy, but first... How do I open the cages?" I asked.

"I overheard a couple of guards talking saying that these cages are remote controlled and can be opened from that computer over there," Bandit pointed over to the monitor.

Zoro walked over to the monitor and looked for a button. "Found it!" he shouted, after a while of searching.

He pounded in the button, opening all of the cages in the room. The Pokemon happily ran out the cave, ready to see the sun again. Bandit, however, was being slow about his exiting.

"Kumo! Let's go!" he shouted.

Kumo simply ignored him, turning to the wall while snoring. "I have an idea," I said. "Zoro. Lick him."

"...Do I?" he asked relunctantly. I glared at him, making him rethink his question. "Okay..."

He jumped on Kumo and licked his face until he couldn't breath anymore with slobber on him.

"Hey! What's going on!" Kumo shouted, pushing Zoro off him.

"How did you know that would work?" Bandit asked.

"Its how Zoro wakes me up every morning when I don't get up at the appropriate time," I giggled. "Its even funnier to watch when its on someone else."

Kumo wobbled on his legs while walked toward me, obviously drunk. "I don't know who you are, but you had no right letting your Growlithe lick me like that..." Kumo said, his vision, really really bad.

"Hey, Kumo. Recognize my voice..." I kicked him with my hind legs in the head, sending him back the cage, "...and my kick?"

Kumo shook his head and wobbled back in front of me. "Reona? Is that you?" Kumo asked.

"Knew he'd recognize me... eventually," I said. "Yep. Its me."

"Wow. You've grown. Last time I saw you, you were a wee girl and now look at you," Kumo complemented. He then turned attention to Zoro. "And this... This is no Growlithe..."

"The name's Zoro. I am a Zoroark."

"Oh. My bad," Kumo said. "Say... How'd I get here?"

"You fainted after having 7 bottles of alcoholic beverages. Then some Golett came and took us both here," Bandit explained. "If it wasn't for Reona, we'd probably be road kill to an oversized jellyfish."

"Ah. Well. That's mighty kind of you, Reona," Kumo said. "But I must tell you now, I can't be of any help to you like I was five years ago. That damn Team Charm, taking the credit for our hard work."

"Kumo..." I said softly. "If you say that you can't help us then..."

I began to walk off until Kumo called me.

"Hold up!"

"Yes?" I asked.

"I'll tell you what...if you brighten my spirit again, I'll be more than happy to fight by your side once again. Just like old times..." Kumo suggested.

"Do you think you'll rejoin the FET afterwards?" I asked.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. I never said that... (although...)" Kumo shook his head off his thoughts. "Anyway, all I can say now is good luck and may your journey be a good one."

I nodded at the spider and raced out of the cave.

Once Zoro and I were out, a sudden strange orb of light floated toward us.

_...Follow..._

The orb floated away, wanting us to follow it. With very little options, we heeded its request whilst be cautious of the dangers ahead.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	4. Chapter 4

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 4 - A Friend in Need

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Jun's POV~_

I jumped from tree to tree, making my way to where Cruel was hiding. The many Pokemon remains indicated that I was getting close. As I drew near, a creepy and familiar laugh caught my attention.

"Who in the-"

I was cut off by a sudden attack by a Toxicroak. The tree I stood on tumbled down, causing the earth quake slightly. Luckily, I managed to dodge the attack. I looked at the tumbled tree to see the Toxicroak standing, unharmed.

"Damn. I missed," the Toxicroak said, giving me a sudden chill down my spine.

"Toxic," I realized who the Pokemon was. It didn't me long to realize that the laugh came from his partner. "Okay. Come out Maria! I know you're there!"

"Clever, boy," Maria said as she came from the shadows. "I see you've grown up a bit since the last we met."

"Heh. He doesn't look all that much tougher than the last time I fought him," Toxic said, spitting out some poison.

"But you have to admit, to dodge your sneak attack, it would require quite the reflexes. He certainly has that down pact," Maria stated.

"Oh well. I don't care. All I care about is killing this punk and feeding him to my stomach," Toxic said, rubbing his stomach.

"Uh oh... This could be bad..." I said to myself as I readied myself.

Toxic jumped in the air and readied a Night Slash. I managed to dodge the attack, but this wasn't the time to waste energy. So instead of fighting, I continued my way to Cruel.

_~Transition~  
>~Zoro's POV~<em>

We continued to follow the strange orb of light. It was leading us somewhere, but we had no idea where. That is until we came to a strange abandoned building.

"What the... What is this?" Reona asked.

The orb that led us hear disappeared, which I found to be suspicious.

"Come on. Let's look inside. Maybe we can find something that can help us," Reona said, going ahead of me.

We went inside the building to see that it was a sort of aquarium; a big one at that.

"Look at this..." Reona said, holding a picture. "A Shiny Tentacruel and a Jellicent. A piece of the picture is missing though."

"Hmm. That's just weird. Why would that orb lead us here?" I asked.

"I don't know, but what ever the case may be, I'm sure it involves this picture," Reona said.

Our ears twitched at a sudden sound. The sound was a struggle, which meant go time.

We ran out the door and headed for where the sound was coming from. Near where the aquarium was, a field made itself present to us. And in its center was a Silver Lucario fighting a huge mob of Golett.

"Flamethrower!" Reona shouted, jumping at the Golett.

A huge number of the mob was taken out, allowing me and the Lucario to handle the rest with ease. Despite looking tired, the Lucario still held his own. Once the mob was defeated, Reona walked toward the Silver Lucario.

"Kizone!" she shouted happily.

"Reona! Is that you!" the Lucario shouted back, sounding really overjoyed.

"Kizone. You look really beat up. What happened to you?" Reona asked.

Kizone looked down, his smile faded completely. "We, the Federation of Exploration Teams, were just ending a meeting when all of a sudden we got an uninvited guest, Cruel. At first it was JUST him, but we were ambushed and soon outmatched. Apparently, some of our own were apart of Cruel's team of evil. We stood no chance. Most of us, knowing how the battle would turn out, made a break for it; only very few managed to escape. Myself being one of those few," Kizone explained. "And even now, we are being hunted. The hunters being the hunted, not a good day to be us."

"I'm so sorry, Kizone," Reona said, placing a paw on his shoulder.

"I can only hope that the other Exploration Teams are okay," Kizone said, tilting his head downward.

"Hm?" I said as a sound came to my keen ears. "Someone's coming."

Reona, Kizone, and I got into battle positions as the intruder came through the bushes. It was...a Kirlia.

"Oh. False alarm; its just Soara," I said.

"Yeah. Its me... Me getting revenge!" she said, running to Reona with a fist.

She flailed at her, giving effort in her endless barrage of punches. But Reona wasn't feeling a thing.

"What's this girl's bizz?" she asked me.

"I don't know," I replied.

"I'll tell you what my bizz is; you two insulted my pride by babying me!" Soara shouted angrily.

". . . . . . . . . . . . . ."

"Hah! I see you're intimidated by me," Soara grinned triumphantly.

Reona walked up to the Kirlia and blew on her, making her tip over and fall.

"Wow. How scary... not," I said, very unimpressed.

"SHUT UP!" Soara shouted, getting up swiftly. "No one uses Whirlwind on me and gets away with it."

"Whirlwind?" Reona asked. "Now, girly, all I did was blow on you. You are...how do I put this...THAT weak."

"...Harsh..." Kizone commented.

"Couldn't think of anything, sorry," Reona admitted.

"WEAK! I'LL SHOW YOU WEAK! YOU'LL BE CRYING IN PAIN ONCE I'M DONE WITH YOU!" Soara shouted, now really angry. "Confu-"

I grabbed her head and threw her to the other side of the forest. Just as we were about to leave, she ran back to where we were still at.

"NO ONE THROWS ME LIKE THAT!" Soara shouted. "Confusion!"

I simply swept the attack away with hardly any effort involved.

"Listen, kid. We really are busy. Just go home," I said, scratching my head.

Soara got so angry at my sentence that she flailed around, speaking rants and gibberish that was too mature to written down, which shocked us. As she was ranting, flapping was heard frombehind her. A bird Pokemon came into view and stopped behind Soara.

"And...what are you guys looking at?" she asked before looking behind her.

"...Beat it twerp!" the bird Pokemon, revealed to be a Honchkrow, said.

The Honchkrow bashed Soara away with his wing, sending her flying through the air.

"Who is this?" Reona asked.

"He's one of the ones who attacked us at the FET base," Kizone said.

"Uhetrus' the name. And you, Kizone, are coming with me," the Honchkrow said.

"Like hell I will," Kizone said, glaring at him.

"Pity. I thought you'd be smarter than this, but..." Uhetrus said. "Mean Look."

Kizone suddenly froze. I could tell he was frozen because I know Mean Look all too well, being hit by it when I was younger.

"Release him!" I shouted.

"Um. No," Uhetrus smartmouthed. "But while I'm here, I may as well take care of you. Cruel is paying me a big buck to have you dead and I will accomidate to that. Hehe."

"You're not getting even close to her," I said, sharpening my claws.

"Heh. Bring it punk. I'll sweep my talons on your fur once I skin you to death," the Honchkrow taunted.

"Night Slash!"

I ran at Uhetrus with my glowing claws ready to slash at him.

"Steel Wing!"

His wings glowed silver as he intercepted me. But I amazingly overpowered him.

"Wha!" he shouted as he dodged my attack. "My word, I didn't think you were quite that tough to be able to push back my Steel Wing."

I swept the ground with my claws and roared at him.

"Air Cutter!" Uhetrus shouted.

Waves of energy came from his wings as he flapped them more harshly. I dodged the barrage of attacks and threw at him a Shadow Ball. The attack hit its target, but he stayed in the air.

"Dark Pulse!"

"Night Daze!"

I slammed my claws to the ground, making an energy wave which absorbed Uhetrus' Dark Pulse. He was knocked down by the force of my attack, making him hit the ground with a thud.

"Flamethrower!" I shouted.

I blew my stream of fire at the Honchkrow, burning him to a crisp, but not killing him.

"Nice work," Reona complemented.

Kizone was released from Mean Look's effect, which he looked at us confused.

"It wasn't too hard. I am known to be your strongest Pokemon," I said, blushing hard at the complement.

"You're my only Pokemon, Zoro," Reona giggled. "Anyway, Kizone. Are you okay?"

"A little stiff, but nothing a little stretching can't fix," he said, stretching.

"Murkrow!"

"What was that?" I asked, looking around.

Before any of us knew it, we were surrounded by Murkrow; a lot of Murkrow. All of them glaring directly at us.

"Um...run," Reona said, before dashing leaving behind a puff of smoke.

Kizone and I did the same as the Murkrow squawked angrily.

_~Transition~  
>~Jun's POV~<em>

Maria and Toxic were close behind, bloodthirst in their eyes. I dodged and intercepted their attacks, but they were relentless.

"Getting tired, boy!" Maria laughed at me as she continued her onslaught of Shadow Balls.

"Just shoot him down so I can kill him!" Toxic demanded at Maria.

"Fine, jerk," Maria complained as she continued her attacks.

I wasn't too far from Cruel's hideout. And I was still in good shape to fight. I just needed to be rid of these two lunkheads. Before I could think of anything, Maria's Shadow Ball managed to knock me down at last, forcing me to the ground near Cruel's hideout.

"Hehe! Nice shot!" I heard Toxic shout.

My back was then stomped on by the toad, feeling his feet on my ribs.

"What is this?" I heard from someone else.

Out from within the hideout came Cruel himself.

"Cruel. Um. We...uh..." Toxic studdered.

"We brought you a fresh kill. He was coming here to kill you, but we..." Maria was stopped by Cruel, who looked directly at me.

"Jun. How interesting it is to meet you once more. I'm surprised to actually see you. Knowing I'd thought you'd be balling up in a corner, crying for Reona," Cruel insulted.

"I don't need Reona to fight you; you'll be dead by my own two paws," I said, growling weakly at him.

"Will I now?" Cruel chuckled.

Toxic got his foot off of my back. This enabled me to attack cruel head-on. But before I could even get close, I was swept aside by his tentacle. I recovered from the attack, but was grabbed in the stomach and thrown around the field. Cruel slammed me to every obstacle available, making me cough out blood as the pain rushed to every bone in my body.

Cruel then threw me down to the ground, making me have to crawl for mercy.

"Such ignorance. And to think you were the partner of that brat. Foolish," Cruel said harshly before slamming all of his tentacles on me with such force.

Blood came through my throat in a stream. The pain was truly terrible. He was just playing with me though. My body was risen by the neck by Cruel and then thrown into the air. As if stone pellets were hitting me, Cruel launched a barrage of punches at me, injuring me in every spot. Blood even began to show as his tentacles also slashed at me.

"If this is all that team Element has to offer for power then the Federation is more idiotic than I thought. You are nothing more than a crybaby who can't even beat even a Caterpie. Such a failure to yourself and your friends," Cruel said before smacking to a tree, making me cough out more blood.

He held me by my wrists, raising me from the ground. My vision was blurry, but I could see what he was going to do.

"I'll make this as slow and painful as I can possibly make it," Cruel said evilly.

His tentacle waved in front of my face, making me shiver. It then entered my mouth and went down my throat. What was he doing! Then I felt my stomach hurting. He was stabbing my organs!

"Hmhmhm. Hahahahaha!" Cruel laughed loudly.

Blood rushed down the tentacle, inside and out; I was in some serious trouble. I thought this was it for me. That is until,...

"Night Slash!"

"Focus Punch!"

A Zoroark and a Silver Lucario knocked out the watching Maria and Toxic, surprising Cruel for a moment. Then suddenly, a stream of fire came directly at Cruel, forcing him to quickly retract from my body. I coughed out a large stream of blood, forcing me to collapse, but not before seeing a familiar figure.

"R...Reona...?"

I closed my eyes, too weak to keep them open any longer.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	5. Chapter 5

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 5 - A Battle of Light and Dark, Reona Vs Cruel

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

There he laid. My best friend, Jun, covered in his own blood only because I wasn't fast enough to come to his aid. Jun...I'm sorry... I then turned my attention to the staring evil that is Cruel.

"Reona... How... Ahem. What an interesting surprise to see you. Evolved no less," Cruel acknowledged.

"My evolved state has nothing to do with why I am here, Cruel," I said, glaring at him.

"Ah yes. You wish to kill me. Well, let me remind of why that's a bad idea," Cruel said calmly. "HYDRO PUMP!"

A huge stream of water came at me, but I paid no mind to it. I retaliated with my Flamethrower, turning the water into steam.

"Is that it?" I taunted.

"Ah. Gotten stronger I see. But let me ask you this: How will it affect the outcome?" Cruel asked sadistically.

Cruel's tentacles then lashed at me at quick speeds. However, they were not quick enough to catch me. I then ran at Cruel, bashing him and then jumping off him. The attack didn't do much but it did affect him.

"What's wrong, Cruel? Can't catch a girl like me?" I taunted more.

Cruel must've got angry at that taunt as he lashed out once more, trying to cut me this time. I once again dodged his attempts to strike at me, making him angrier.

"Grrr. Hold still!" Cruel shouted angrily.

I contined my agile dodging skills, giving him no chance at attack. This was just me toying with him, just as he's done to so many of his victims.

"That's it... Poison Jab!"Cruel shouted, coming into close range.

Instead of hitting me, he hit the ground, causing a smoke screen. Not wanting to get caught, I jumped out of the smoke, but got caught by one of Cruel's tentacles.

"Got you now!" Cruelshouted triumphantly. "Now you can't excape..."

"Wrong, Cruel!" I shouted. "There's a big advantage that this body has that my last one didn't have."

"And what might that be?" Cruel asked.

"Long tails," I said with a grin.

I wrapped my tails around Cruel's tentacle and ripped it off his body.

"GAAAAAAAH!" Cruel shouted in pain.

"And that's not all! You're not the only one who can stretch over a mile!" I shouted before pushing him to his hideout's wall with all nine of my tails.

"Whew," I sighed. I had to admit, I wasn't even sure if that was going to work or not. But it wasn't over. "Get up, Cruel. I know that wasn't enough to kill you."

Cruel opened his eyes and stood back up, laughing as he did. "Very admirable effort, Reona. I have never seen a Ninetales use its tails like that before," Cruel said. "But even so, I have a few tricks of my own."

Cruel's tentacle-the one I tore off-evaporated into dust and Cruel himself began to grow a new one, just like Javaline.

"So you have regeneration as well," I said, hinting to my earlier encounter with Javaline.

"Ah so you've seen it before, have you?" Cruel asked, amusing himself as he stretched the new tentacle. "Javaline was such a great test subject, but she was too weak to handle the process of being immortal while being dead so I decided for the next best thing, Regeneration. Such a pathetic bug, even when dead."

"So what project did she fail at?" I asked, now curious on what he was talking about.

"I have nothing to say to you. Nothing further anyway," Cruel said before readying another attack.

His tentacles came in another barrage, which I dodged once more. But all my running was really wearing me down. If I didn't switch from defense to offense, I was in some really deep crap.

Just as I was taking a breather, a tentacle finally struck at me, dazing me long enough for a huge barrage to hit me.

_Damn it. I should not let my guard down..._

I could feel the cuts and bruises the tentacles left on me, and I wasn't sure if I was still good for a fight.

"I have to admit, Reona. Unlike most of victims, you are by far the most entertaining. And for that I give you my applause," Cruel said, clapping his tentacles together.

After his quick clapping, he lashed out at me once more. This time, because of my weaken condition, he grabbed me and, like Jun, he began to bang me everywhere, from the trees to the ground up. He then threw me in the air.

"Hydro Pump!" Cruel shouted.

The stream of water hit me dead in the center, sending me higher into the air. The monstrous jellyfish then jumped into the air higher than me and quickly slammed me back down to the ground hard. I could hear my ears ringing and feel my ribs; they were broken.

"And so it ends here," Cruel said, picking me up. He tied his tentacle on my tails, rendering them useless. "Its over, Reona. You have failed and you have lost. But don't worry, once I'm done with you, I'll continue with your friend there. We'll get to see what the inside of a Lucario looks like once we split him in half."

Just as I saw my doom, my end, right before my very eyes, a sudden change happened. I can't exactly put it into words, but it felt like my body had suddenly awoken a strange power within me.

"This is it!" Cruel shouted as he aimed his tentacle at my heart.

But before he could reach it, my body began to glow red; as red as the fire burning in my heart and as bright as the sun. The intensity was so great it burned the tentacles that were holding me. Once I was free, I landed my feet.

"If you mess with my friend anymore... No mercy shall come to you!" I roared angrily.

I then ran him, bashing him with Tackles harder than Double-Edge or even Giga Impact. It was as if my body undergone a huge level up. And it showed as Cruel was getting hurt a lot by my barrage of tackles.

"MASTER!" Maria shouted.

"HOLD ON!" Toxic shouted after.

It was no use, Cruel was getting hurt no matter what he did. Everytime he tried to lash out at me or use Poison Jab, the heat that shielded me kept him from doing anything. With him now extremely weak, I readied myself for one powerful attack; as did he though.

"HYDRO PUMP!" he shouted.

He shot his stream of water at me, but...

"Blast...BURN!"

My attack overpowered his. No, it did better than just overpower his attack; it completely destroyed Cruel. The attack grew in size upon usage, burning and destroying half of the entire forest, leaving it in complete ruins.

_~Zoro's POV~_

"Whoa... Kizone... Did you see what I just saw?" I asked, completely shocked.

"Yeah. Amazing. She managed to defeat Cruel... Reona, what kind of power do you have anyway?" Kizone said softly, though I managed to hear.

I looked down to see the two grunts in shock and completely speechless. No real surprise, being their master was gone.

_~Reona's POV~_

The smoke from my attack was soon clearing away. Once it was gone, it reavealed Cruel, though now horribly bruised and burnt, having a hard time breathing.

"Ugh...d-da...you...Re...Reona..." was all Cruel could say that was audiable.

I started hearing some struggling from behind me. When looked back, I saw Toxic breaking free of Kizone's grasp. He finally did after a moment and smacked Zoro off of Maria. The duo ran passed me and to their master.

"Cruel! Are you okay!" Toxic shouted.

"His injuries are real critical! He can't regenerate it all on his own!" Maria shouted. "We've got to retreat..."

"RETREAT! But we never retreated before!" Toxic argued angrily.

"That's because no Pokemon in the world has been able to do this to our master before," Maria stated.

"Grrrr. Alright then," Toxic said. He picked up Cruel and awaited Maria. "...punkasses..."

"We'll meet again," Maria said, throwing down a smoke ball for an easy escape.

After they escaped, I turned and limped my way to Jun. He was still breathing, but it was really light very hard to tell. But I could tell.

"Kizone! Tell me you know how to help him!" I shouted desperately at the Lucario walking to where I was standing, along with Zoro.

"I do have a way, but I have never truly mastered it yet. A technique that Mother said would heal body to its fullest," Kizone explained.

"I don't care! Please! Just help him!" I shouted, tears coming out of my eyes.

Kizone nodded and kneeled down. He placed a paw on Jun's chest and began to release waves of aura on him. These waves sealed up Jun's cuts and bruises and made him breath easier.

"Errr... That's it... That's all I can give," Kizone said, his voice sounding tired.

"...Jun?" I said, bringing my face close to his.

I got no reaction. Kizone and Zoro's ears drooped downward in sadness, knowing they were too late. But then, I heard moans. I looked back at Jun to see him moving.

"Ah. My head hurts," Jun said as he soon got up. He looked at me and squinted as if looking for or at something. "Reona? Is that you?" I simply nodded, too overjoyed for words. His expression changed slowly. "REONA!"

"JUN!" I shouted happily.

Jun grabbed and pulled me into a hug. And without really thinking, we kissed each other, showing how happy we were to see each other alive. Maybe showing a bit too much actually. We soon came to our senses and released the kiss. The long string of saliva didn't help, nor did our blushing heavily at each other.

"Ahem..." Kizone said, breaking us from our trance.

"Uhhh..." I said still blank minded.

"Ummm..." Jun, also blank minded, said.

"Reona? Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Zoro asked, crossing his arms.

"Oh...right..." I said, very very embarrassed about the situation. "Um. This is Jun. He was my partner 5 years ago when I disappeared. And Jun. This is my oldest partner from my world, Zoro."

"Nice to meet you," Jun said, extending a paw-in-friendship.

"Same here," Zoro said, accepting the paw.

"Now, Jun, where is Ethereal and Zwe?" I asked.

"Zwe's with Reshiram, traveling the world to explore newer and much better places," Jun explained. "And...well...Ethereal and I aren't talking much. She quit Team Element, leaving only me. Sorry I couldn't keep the team together."

I placed a paw on Jun's shoulder, making him blush again. "Let's go get Ethereal," I said with a smile. Jun nodded. "Oh, and you two... TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS AND YOU WILL FEEL MY BLAST BURN ON YOUR ASSES! GOT IT!"

Kizone and Zoro shook in fear after I shouted that at them. I walked beside Jun, they soon following us.

_~Transition~_

Jun knocked on the door of Ethereal's new home. A lot of struggling was heard before an angry voice was heard.

"Jun. I told before, I'm not coming back!" Ethereal shouted as she opened the door. She looked at me with a surprised look. "R...Reona?"

"Hey, Ethereal," I said, smiling.

"IT IS YOU! OH, COME HERE YOU!" Ethereal shouted in happiness, hugging me tightly.

"I hear you won't come back to Team Element. That's a shame. We really do need our 'cold shoulder' back," I said, leaving the hug.

"Won't come back? Yeah right!" Ethereal shouted before slamming the door and then reopening it to reveal herself now with her Choice Scarf back on her. "Who says I'm not coming back? I sure didn't."

Jun looked at me with a surprised expression on his face. He then toom out a red scarf; the same red scarf I gave him before I left.

"Reona? This is still yours," Jun offered, trying to give me the scarf.

I declined. "No. Its yours now," I said. I put the scarf around his neck, making him blush the hardest so far. He then began to tear up. "Oh are you going to cry about me not wearing it?"

"No. I'm going to cry about you giving it to me. THANK YOU, REONA!" Jun shouted happily, hugging me even tighter than Ethereal did.

"Gah! Too...tight...crushing...ribs...fast...going...to...suff...icate..." I said, struggling to get loose.

"Come on, let's go home," Ethereal said.

"Coming Kizone?" I asked.

"Nah. I've got to find the Federation of Exploration Teams. With Cruel gone, it should be easy finding them now," Kizone said. "I'll see you guys later." Kizone disappeared into the trees.

"Oh that reminds me," I said. I walked to Zoro with a smile on my face. "Zoro, you really handled yourself back there. How would you like to be apart of Team Element?"

"With you? It would be my honor," Zoro accepted.

We, including Zoro, then left for home back in Pokemon Town. I was so excited, I couldn't believe it. I was back. Back in the Pokemon World I remember it as!

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	6. Chapter 6

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter VI: Team Mischief

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

_...On the road to Virdian City..._

As we; Zoro, Ethereal, Jun, and I; were walking toward Pokemon Town, I decided that I would keep ourselves lively with some singing. Zoro seemed to enjoy it (as always), and Ethereal and Jun had no idea what I was singing.

"What is she singing?" Ethereal asked Zoro, not thinking that I was listening.

"Beats me. Its a song she often listens to. Its not a bad song, I just find it redundant," Zoro said honestly.

"Redundant my 9-tailed butt," I quickly said, stopping my song. "You saw what I did to Cruel and I can very well do it to you too."

"Easy, Mistress. I didn't mean to offend," Zoro said, sweat dropping.

As Jun walked by me, I suddenly blushed and turned back to the way I was facing. The thought of me and Jun kissing never once left my head. Romantic as it was, it was also so sudden and embarrassing; especially with Kizone and Zoro watching.

Before I made a fool of myself, we soon came to the bridge that was needed to take in order to get to Pokemon Town. But before we could cross, we were stopped by a Kirlia and a Misdreavus.

"Hold it! You can't cross here!" the Misdreavus shouted.

"We own this bridge now so beat it!" the Kirlia shouted after.

". . . . . . . . ."

"(Is it just me or do these not look all that threatening?)" Zoro whispered.

"(Yeah. They think their masters of the bridge. SO CUTE!)" Ethereal whispered loudly.

"HEY! We're not cute!...well we are...but we're also scary!" Misdreavus shouted angrily.

"Still so cute!" Ethereal shouted cutely.

She walked to the duo and petted their heads, making us giggle. However, this did not amuse the duo of mischeavous Pokemon.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF US!" the Misdreavus shouted, shaking her head harshly. "That's it. Time to get serious!"

"I'm ready for a battle! Let's go!" the Kirlia shouted.

". . . . . . . . . ."

"Are you serious?" Zoro asked.

"Yes, why?" the Misdreavus asked.

"Isn't it illegal to harass children?" I asked back.

"ILLEGAL OR NOT, A CHALLENGE IS A CHALLENGE! NOW FIGHT US!" the Kirlia shouted forcefully.

"Uh... Yeah! Come on!" the Misdreavus shouted.

"You know what? I think I'll just freeze us a bridge," Ethereal said kindly. "Beating up on kids is so child's play."

"Agreed," we the rest of us said in unison, walking off the bridge.

Near the bridge, Ethereal charged up her Ice Beam but was interrupted by a sudden Shadow Ball ambush from the Misdreavus.

". . . . . . . . . . . ."

It was our turn to be unamused as the wave of water the Shadow Ball made drenched all four of us.

"Ready to fight us now?" the Kirlia taunted.

"Okay. Time for a butt whopping," Zoro said, sharpening his claws.

"(Just don't hurt them too much, they are just children,)" I whispered.

Zoro and Ethereal decided to take care of the problem and jumped back onto the bridge.

"Dark Pulse!" the Misdreavus shouted.

She sent waves of dark energy at Zoro who felt absolutely nothing from the attack.

"Night Slash!" he retaliated.

With only a flick of his claw, the Misdreavus was flown back to a tree, knocked out in one hit. This got the Kirlia angry.

"Focus Blast!" she shouted.

She shot a blast of physical energy at Zoro who blocked the attack. Ethereal saw a window of attack and charged a small Shadow Ball. She then spat the small will-o-wisp at the Kirlia, also knocking her out.

"Ow. We were swept..." the Misdreavus stated.

"Gee, you think?" the Kirlia backtalked.

"Oh, you be quiet, Kala!" the Misdreavus retaliated, catching my attention.

"No! You shut up, Mischief!" Kala shouted, glaring at the Misdreavus.

"...We'll settle this at the cafe," Mischief challenged.

"You're on!" Kala shouted.

The two then ran off, allowing us passage.

"Hey, did you hear that Kirlia's name?" I asked.

"Yeah. I did...but it couldn't be the same Kala...could it?" Jun said, placing a paw on under his chin.

"Are you two lovebirds coming or not!" Zoro shouted at us.

"Lovebirds?" Ethereal asked.

"Yeah. Get this..." Zoro began.

"Zoro! Don't you DARE!" I shouted angrily, running at him.

He ran away from me, chuckling as he did. The mischeavous rat of a fox.

_~Transition~_

After teaching my bratty Zoroark a lesson, my team and I finally made it back to our old base, which was still in mint condition to my surprise. As Zoro, Ethereal, and Jun were settling in, I decided to wait before settling.

"Where are going, Reona?" Ethereal asked.

"To go...see an old friend," I replied, not really wanting her to worry.

"Well. If you want to see the 'old friend', why not find her in the Oasis Village?" Jun suggested.

"Alright. I'll be back as soon as I can," I said before racing off.

Luckily for me, I still remembered how to get to the desert. And if memory served me correctly, the wall that blocked off the desert was taken down after the downfall of Kramzak...poor guy.

_~Transition~  
>~Sala's POV~<em>

Today was once again my shift to watch the store and sell what I could. As much as it is good for money, I ABSOLUTELY HATED THIS JOB! It is so boring that I would rather be poor than work in this crappy place. But this was for Kala, my once-very sweet girl.

As I was dusting the table, a Ninetales walked up to me with a smile.

"Welcome. Can I get you anything?" I said, forcing a smile on my face.

"Sure. I would like one Sala and one conversation," the Ninetales joked, but surprising me.

"...How do you know my..." I tried asking before I finally realized it. "R...Reona! Is that you!" She nodded. "Reona! Oh hello old friend!" My overjoyedness got the better of me because I hugging her very tightly.

After I released her, she asked me, "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing; I here working and trying to support what little family I have left," I replied.

"You mean Kala, right? Kala the now-Kirlia?" Reona asked.

"Yes...wait, how do you-" I stopped midsentence after realizing what might have happened. "She was causing trouble, wasn't she?"

"Blocking us, Team Element, from crossing the river earlier," Reona said. "They actually forced to fight them; they should've known better, we are a more advanced level Pokemon team now."

"Please forgive her, she has not been herself since her dad, Duro, died to Toxic," I said, my eyes swelling with tears. Before I could continue my conversation, I looked at the sun's position to see that my shift had finally ended. "Yay. Finally done here."

"Your shift over?" Reona asked.

"Yep. Now I can go see a friend who has been giving me comfort for a while now since Kala became so rebellious," I said, not wanting to wait. "Want to meet him?"

"Sure," Reona said.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

At the Oasis Village cafe, a Dusknoir was sitting and enjoying some apple juice.

"Ebro!" Sala called, getting his attention.

"Ah, hello, Sala," the Dusknoir said, hugging Sala after she ran to him. "Who might this be?"

"Ebro, this is my good friend, Reona," Sala introduced.

"Hi."

"Reona, this is Ebro. He's kinda like me in more than one way," Sala said.

"So you are this Reona I hear so much about? Very impressive," Ebro complemented. "And I see you managed to evolve."

"Yeah well..." I said, scratching my head.

"She met up with Kala and Mischief. They were apparently causing trouble," Sala said.

"I see...that is unfortunate," Ebro said before sipping more of the apple juice (where it goes, nobody knows).

"I assume that Mischief the Misdreavus is your daughter," I said.

"Very good. You are very bright, but that's to be expected from a Ninetales," Ebro chuckled. "Yes. Mischief is my daughter and she happens to lead the troublemaking duo of Team Mischief."

"They're an Exploration Team that forces Pokemon they rescue into giving them big rewards; 'Small jobs, Big rewards', that's their motto," Sala further explained. "They are good-hearted children, its just they take their anger at us out on other Pokemon."

"Mischief really dislikes me and does whatever she wants just to spite me. But I'm not one to assualt anyone, not even my own daughter," Ebro said.

"Hmmm. That's a bit worrisome. Especially with Team Cruel still out there," I said. "From what I saw from them, if they get seen by Team Cruel, I fear they might get killed or become a rat in an experiment."

"Oh my!" Sala shouted, shocked by what I said.

"What can we do though? We can't just tell them to stop Exploring..." Ebro said.

"I'll look after them if you'd like. If I can, I'll also try to get through to those two and tell them to stop harassing other Pokemon," I offered.

"Oh thank you, Reona," Sala said.

"Yeah. We'll support you always," Ebro said after.

With that said and with the sun setting, I hurried off back home, hoping to make it to supper (which I didn't).

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	7. Chapter 7

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter VII: Operation: REVENGE

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Kizone's POV~_

After finding all of the Federation Members (or rather they finding me), we all reassembled at the meeting hall.

"I must say, I am impressed by how much Reona has grown, Kizone. And you say that Cruel was mortally wound from the fight?" Samurott asked.

"Yes. I saw it with my own two eyes. Cruel was burnt from head to the tip of his tentacles. For a human, Reona has proven to be very powerful," I said.

"Sounds like the girl is quite the girl. I would definitely like to meet someone who can match my beauty," a shiny Froslass commented, making Lopunny mad.

"If you are trying to say you are more beautiful than I then you've got another thing coming," Lopunny said, sweeping her ear.

"Oh that's exactly what I, Miss Lass leader of Team Frostbite, am trying to say. You are fat. You are ugly. Nobody likes sassy. Nobody likes bunnies," the Froslass insulted.

"Break it up!" a Rhyperior shouted. "We're not here to fight each other; we're here to discuss very crucial matters. Such as we, Team Frostbite and my team, Team Iron Breakers, need to head back to Federation of Exploration Teams of the North."

"A summons no doubt?" Samurott asked.

"Yes sir. A summons from the Master himself," Miss Lass said.

"Very well. Miss Lass and Ikanondo, you two are dismissed," Samurott said.

"You are too kind," Miss Lass said with a bow before leaving, Ikanondo following.

"As for the rest of us, we must repair any damage that caused by Team Cruel. Leave no home unbuilt and any business unrunning. DISMISSED!" Samurott shouted.

_~Transition~  
>~Soara's POV~<em>

GULP! GULP! GULP! What a nice drink to steady the nerves. I wonder why this is bad for you?

Oh sorry. Um. What are you doing here? ...Oh. Its my POV? ...Oh. I see it now. Sorry.

I was having a nice beverage to calm my nerves in the cafe after being beaten by those losers, Reona and Zoro. That damn Honchkrow simply just caught me off guard, but it won't happen twice, I swear that. Anyway, I was sitting with a friend who heard about my dilemna with those two.

"...and that's what happened," I finished talking with the Masquerain sitting in front of me.

"Oh dear. Such a terrible misfortune. Well nothing warms up the raging heart better than...REVENGE," the Masquerain said.

"True, Crystal, but those two aren't even doing anything right now," I said.

Crystal looked over me, making turn around to see Reona and Zoro with two other Pokemon, a Glaceon and a Lucario. This made me want to eavesdrop.

"So this is our mission?" Reona asked, looking at the piece of paper the Lucario was holding when they arrived.

"Yep," the Lucario replied.

"Oh I can't wait. This will be like old times," the Glaceon said excitingly.

"Only four times better," Zoro stated, chuckling to himself.

I returned to my table to report what I heard.

"A mission?" Crystal asked.

"Yeah. Some sort of mission that their doing," I reported.

"Hmmm. You know what I'm thinking girl?" Crystal asked, cocking eyes at me.

"Um. French fries?" I said.

"No you idiot," Crystal snapped. "We plan revenge during their mission, screwing it up completely. What do you say?"

"You are evil. I like it," I giggled. "Team Vendetta is back and ready to kick ass."

_~Transition~  
>~OPERATION: REVENGE Attempt #1~<em>

Crystal and I ran as far ahead as we could in order to state the plan.

"Okay. Here it is. We'll slather this honey on the path way here, then those jerks will get stuck and will be there until they die," Crystal told.

"That's...BRILLIANT!" I shouted happily. "But one thing: Where did you get the honey anyway?"

"Oh I stole it from a bunch of Combee," Crystal admitted.

We then suddenly heard buzzing. We looked behind us to see a huge wall of angry Combee looking dead at me (as I was holding the honey).

"Um. Crystal?" I looked to where Crystal was to she that ran off. "YOU COWARD! ...uh oh." I said as the shadow of the Combee wall got closer. I quickly ran for the hills. "CRAPCRAPCRAPCRAPCRAP!"

_~Transition~  
>~Attempt #2~<em>

"Don't worry, Soara. Combee stings aren't that bad," Crystal said encouragingly.

I was stung from head to toe. I was mad, but I had to seek revenge.

"Just tell me the plan," I demanded, glaring at Crystal.

"Okay. We dig a hole and place a piece of cloth on their path, making slip and fall," Crystal explained.

"Sounds good," I said.

"Sounds good? It is good girl," Crystal corrected me. "Now dig a hole."

"What? Why me?" I complained.

"I don't have hands and well..." Crystal said.

"No way. I am not going to mess up my hands just for revenge," I said.

But wouldn't you know it, I walk right into the very trap Crystal was just telling me about.

"Oh right. I forgot about the one I made for if you said no," Crystal said, smiling.

"IF YOU ALREADY MADE ONE, WHY MAKE ME DIG ANOTHER TRAP!" I shouted angrily.

". . . . . . . ."

"Oh...not very smart, huh?" Crystal asked, sweatdropping.

_~Transition~  
>~Attempt #3~<em>

Those four lunkheads were battling against an Alakazam and a Houndoom, giving us the opportunity we need.

"3rd times the charm. This is sticky oil. One blast of this and Reona's mission is ruined," Crystal explained.

I shrugged at this plan, but it had to work. After a while of waiting, I quickly tossed the sticky oil, hoping it'd hit Reona. But she dodged and the Alakazan reflected it back at me, covering me in sticky oil.

"Don't worry. I've got this," Crystal said, holding out a spray. She sprayed it, but it got into my eyes, burning them. "Oops. This is pepper spray. Sorry."

_~Attempt #4~_

Swinging log trap: Pushed me back into the hole.

_~Attempt #5~_

Quicksand trap: I got sunk!

_~Attempt #17~_

Floormaster trap: BETRAYAL!

_~Attempt #605~_

Got lost in a tunnel... How'd that happen?

_~Attempt #-8912~_

The ultimate trap: I got crushed, rolled over, nearly eaten alive by Krokorok, caught in a tree, and restung all over.

_~Transition~_

After a long list of failures, I wrapped in bandages completely. Even my mouth was covered up.

"Okay. So we fail at revenge..." Crystal admitted.

"Wf fal? Fu fifnt fep af fal," I muffled.

"Oh don't worry. We'll get back at them somehow. Don't you worry," Crystal said, wrapping me in her eye-wing.

I could spark a tear as my horror had only just begun. PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_

Thank you.


	8. Chapter 8

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter VIII: A Moment of Peace

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Jun's POV~_

Today started like always, same routine (with the exception of the extra mouth), same meal, same everything. Even with Cruel running around the region, everything still acted as if he never existed. Everyone at first was shocked to see Reona, but it ended with me explaining she was now a Ninetales. I didn't mind, especially for Reona.

Today, however, we decided not to do any Exploring except for at the beautiful fields where I grew up near. It was just me and Reona today, laying on our backs, enjoying the scenery.

"Wow. It really is a lovely day," Reona commented.

"Yeah. The clouds are rolling and sun is shining," I said.

"Hey, Jun," Reona called.

"Yeah?"

"TAG! You're it!" Reona shouted, laughing as she got a head start.

"Hey! Get back here!" I shouted as I quickly got to catch her.

I chased her around the field for what felt like an hour. Eventually I jumped at her and grabbed her, but we ended up rolling down a hill. Once we were back on solid ground, I was sitting right on top of her.

"Okay. You got me," Reona giggled, blushing brightly as she did.

I looked at the field and took in its gracefulness. "You know, if Cruel rules the world, the peace we live and sit in now, and fields like these will only be a distant memory. Its times like these when we need to do everything we can to stop someone as evil as him," I said in a serious tone.

"I know what you mean. It isn't everyday that we get chances to bask in such a beautiful scenery," Reona agreed. "If we lose, we lose everything we worked for; our homes, our fields, and our freedom."

"Well isn't this a surprise," a voice said from a distance.

We got off each other to see who it was. Coming from the horizon was Mother Nature who seemed to also be basking in the beauty of the fields.

"Hey, Mother," Reona said.

"What brings you here?" I asked.

"Oh. Just visiting," Mother said. "You know, this was a place where me and Sam used to come before I had Linda or Brenda. It was a magical place..." Mother closed her eyes as she stood there, looking at the sun. "What I can see from you two truly reminds me of us. This was also seeable back when we first met 5 years ago, remember?"

"I do actually remember visiting you," I said. "And. Um...Well..."

Reona and I blushed at what Mother was telling us. "Hmm. I haven't seen young love like yours since Kizone's love strucken lifetime," she said. "Who knows? Maybe you'll be luckier than he was. Very lucky indeed."

That made us both blush even harder. Mother then laughed loudly as she slithered back in the direction of the Yucor Forest. Once she was gone, we climbed the hill we rolled off of and sat.

"Lucky, huh?" I said, still blushing. "I wouldn't exactly call myself that."

"Why not?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You seem like you have the qualities of someone lucky," Reona said, spitting out a flame. "You're smart, couragous, kind, and...well...handsome..."

I was not seeing that coming at all. Handsome. She really made me blush a lot from her comment, and I could tell she felt the same way.

"Reona. When I...kissed you...you didn't push me back. Why?" I asked.

"Need you ask? I enjoyed it, of course," Reona said bluntly. "I mean, its the first time I've ever met or even kissed a boy who wasn't some nosy 'butt grabber'. Most of the boys at my old High School were like that, and unlike other girls, I never liked that. What I wanted was a boy who saw more as a girl and not as an object that a boy could just get pleasure from."

"Oh... I see... Sorry to hear all that..." I said, putting my paws together between my folded legs.

"Jun..." Reona called.

I turned to face her and... She unexpectedly kisses me. At first, I was shocked, but she reassured me that things were fine. I felt harmony in my life the first time my life. And I could she felt the same way once more. But that harmony was broken by giggling coming from our nosy friends.

"Zoro!" Reona shouted, shocked.

"Ethereal!" I shouted as well.

"Don't mind us, we were just strolling around," Ethereal lied.

"I smelled your...love smell...from nearby and decided to see what was going on (to my disappointment...)," Zoro admitted. "Anyway, we got a summons from Samurott. He wants to see us immediately."

We, Reona and I, looked at each other in the eye before nodding. We stood up and joined our friends, banging their heads as we passed by them.

_~Transition~_

We stood in the office of the leading Master himself, Samurott, who apparently was glad to see us.

"So what's up chief?" Reona asked.

"I have just recieved a message from my old friend from the North Federation of Exploration Teams," Samurott said.

"North FET?" Reona asked. "There are multiple FETs?"

"Yes. There are 5 FETs in total; we are the centerhold of the other 4: North, South, East, and West," Samurott explained. "The North is a bit highly advanced as they use technology to help in their missions, such as detecting villians and sending the right Exploration Team to delt with said villian." Samurott shook off the rest of the explanation, not wanting to bore us. "Anyway, my friend, Ty, has heard a lot about you Team Element has need your services."

"So we get to go the North?" Ethereal asked. "Yay! I get to go back to my old home!"

"Oh right. You do come from the North don't you? Okay. So how do we get to the North?" Reona asked.

"Our carrier Lapras will be happy to take you. She's waiting at the docks for you," Samurott said. "Well. Bon voyage. And don't worry about Team Cruel. We've called on reinforcements to deal with them."

"Okay. See you, sir!" Reona saluted before we left his office.

_~Transition~_

We made our way to the docks to find our Lapras happily waving at us.

"Greetings, miss Reona. Need a ride?" Lapras asked in a French accent.

"Sure do," Reona said.

"Then hop aboard, everyone," Lapras said. "Please watch your step."

We got on her back and sat down. The Transport Pokemon had no troubles carrying us on her back. She turned around and swam toward the snowbound lands of the North.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	9. Chapter 9

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter IX: Snow Bound

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

We finally made it to the North which was covered deep in snow.

"Our arrival went without a hitch," Lapras reported. "I do hope your mission goes well."

"Me too," I said with a smile.

"A-CHOO!" Zoro sneezed. "Ugh. As much fur as I have, I am not well equipped for this kind of cold."

We laughed at this, but to be honest, I was just as cold as Zoro. Since we lived in the south of Unova and rarely saw snow, we were not very well used to cold climate. As we shivered (except for Ethereal), a shiny Froslass came floating at us with two other Pokemon.

"Welcome Team Element," the Froslass said with a bow.

"Hi. Who are you?" I asked.

"We are Team Frostbite, a name that references me mostly. I am the leader, Miss Lass," the Froslass said. "Here to my left is an Ampharos who is named Kiora. She is very bright and gentle towards Pokemon, but don't underestimate her as she is also a powerhouse."

"Hello," Kiora said softly.

"And to my right is Iliza the red Gardevoir. The strange coloration is of unknown origin, but it suits her well," Miss Lass introduced. She floated closer to my ear. "(Whatever you do, do NOT give Iliza a Tomato Berry. I would only assume the red coloration is from her addiction to them. Give her one, and the entire region is engulfed in flames in two seconds.)"

After Miss Lass floated away from my ear, I spoke up. "So are you going to lead us to the Leader of the FET here in the North?" I asked.

"Why, yes we are. He is very anxious to meet you. He's always wanted to meet a human before, but since existed here, he's been thrown into a bunch of corners with rotten luck," Miss Lass explained. "Come come."

Team Frostbite walked ahead of us, but I decided to walk beside Miss Lass; she insisted it.

"My, Reona. Your fur is quite beautiful. But not as beautiful as me," Miss Lass said.

"Yeah. You are beautiful," I agreed.

"...Funny. Most girls take offense to that. You are by far the first to have said responded positively," Miss Lass said.

"Well. Back from where I live, I tend to be a bit Tomboyish only because I don't care much about beauty. I do girl stuff like painting my nails or go shopping, but I just do much of anything beauty related," I explained.

"...I must say, Lopunny could learn a lot from you. Such an awesome team she has, but her smug attitude is what throws them off. Stub-born is what that cow is," Miss Lass giggled.

I laughed at the joke. Miss Lass then discussed something that I wish she didn't bring up.

"So let tell you some about me. Did you know that I'm yet to find a man of my own?" Miss Lass asked.

"Um...no..." I said.

"Why don't I have a man yet? I have perfectly ready eggs that need sperm now! Come on world! Give me something at least!" Miss Lass whined, making me sweatdrop.

Suddenly, a snowball knocked Miss Lass to the snow; the snowball was made by Iliza. "She thinks she's the only one wants a man... Selfish," she said as she contiously threw another snowball in the air and catching it.

"Come off it, Iliza. We both know you're-" Kiora got cut off by a snowball to the tail, which electricuted her.

"No need to be a 'Dedoria'," Iliza said smugly.

"No need to state my dum real name!" Miss Lass shouted angrily.

Soon, a furious adult arguement broke out in front of us, making us sweatdrop. "Should we carry on without them?" Zoro asked.

I signalled for 'lets go' and went in the direction we were walking.

_~Transition~_

After their arguement ended, Team Frostbite, my Team Element, and I made it into town. It was truly bustling as shops were serving Pokemon right and left.

"Oh. No matter how many times I come here, I always come surprised," Miss Lass said, twirling at the sites.

"I must say, for a cold place, it has a lot of good items, most of them useful for dungeons," I commented.

A Rhyperior, a Hariyama, and a Golem suddenly appeared in front of me, causig me to bump into them.

"Ow..." I said, dazed from hitting the Pokemon hard.

A huge hand was presented to me; the huge hand coming from the Hariyama. "Excuse me, madam," the Hariyama said.

I accept the kind hand, which lifted me up with ease.

"No. Excuse me. I wasn't paying attention of where I was going," I admitted.

"No big deal," the Rhyperior said. "Say... Aren't you that Team Element?"

"Yeah. We are," Jun said.

"Who might you be?" Zoro asked.

"We are Team Iron Breakers!" Rhyperior shouted, all three of them flexing. "I am Ikanondo, the leader. My arms will shatter any wall that dares to block us!"

"I am Kixez. With my size and strength, no boulder is safe from my powerhouse punches!" the Hariyama shouted.

"And I am Rolem. Uphill, I am strong. Downhill, I am stronger!" the Golem shouted.

We applauded this performance of strength, but Miss Lass and her team simply yawned.

"And look what the Meowth dragged in," Ikanondo said to Miss Lass. "So are you taking them to Master Ty?"

"Yep. Where is he?" Miss Lass asked.

"Somewhere. We don't know for sure," Rolem said.

"Somewhere? He doesn't stay in his office?" Ethereal asked.

"Unfortunately, he does not," Kiora replied.

"He tends to move about town, going from shop to shop to buy whatever rare items he can. Then the items he buys gets sent to a charity to homeless children who have hit rock bottom because of Pokemon like Cruel," Iliza explained.

"He very kind hearted and will do whatever it takes to save an innocent life," Miss Lass further explains.

"Wow. Now I really want to meet him," I said in awe.

"YOU LITTLE PEASANT!" a loud grouchy voice shouted.

Behind us was a gathered crowd which we swore wasn't there before.

"Uh oh. Sounds like trouble," Ikanondo said before running with Miss Lass toward the crowd.

I joined in to see what all the hub-bub was about. I joined up with Ikanondo and Miss Lass to see a small Cubchoo holding a ball with an angry Froslass and two fighting Pokemon.

"How dare you touch me with that filthy ball! Such an ignorant brat!" the Froslass shouted angrily.

"I'm sorry, miss. I was just playing with my friends and the ball slipped out of my hands," the Cubchoo said. "ACHOO!"

The polar bear Pokemon accidently sneezed of the Froslass's kimono-like body, making her face glow red as steam began to sprout.

"THAT'S IT! YOU HAVE DISRESPECTED ME FOR THE LAST TIME!" the angry Froslass roared. "STRETCH! BRUTE! TAKE THIS FOOL TO THE DUNGEON!"

"Yes, Lady Fubuki," the two Fighting Pokemon said in unison.

They began to gang up on the poor bear. "Help!" the Cubchoo shouted.

I sprang into action and burnt the fighting Pokemon with my Flamethrower. I then jumped right in front of the Cubchoo, protecting him, and surprising the crowd.

"Who is that?"

"Is she crazy?"

"Wait. Isn't that Team Element's leader?"

"She's cute."

"Go, girl, go!"

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Fubuki asked, sounding irritated.

"I'm Team Element's leader, Reona. And terrorizing a defenseless Pokemon. Shame on you," I said, growling at her.

"An Exploration Team member? Hmph. Very well, peasant. Destroy that Cubchoo brat now!" Fubuki ordered. I didn't budge. "Hey! Didn't you hear me!"

"Oh I heard you. I'm just not dumb enough to follow YOUR orders," I growled.

"Ugh. Fine. If you want something done right, do it yourself!" Fubuki shouted angrily. "Ominous Wind!"

"Flame Blast!" a voice shouted.

The attack cancelled out Fubuki's Ominous Wind, leaving nothing but sparkles in the air. A Pokemon came from the crowd with flames lit up on the back of his neck.

"Such pity, Fubuki. You still haven't learned your place, have you?" the Pokemon said mockingly.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU INTERFERE!" Fubuki shouted.

The Pokemon blew a small swift spark at the screaming Froslass, burning her face. This was enough to make her scream in absolute terror.

"AAAAAAH! MY FACE! MY BEAUTIFUL FACE! I CAN'T BE SEEN OUT IN PUBLIC LIKE THIS!" Fubuki shouted before running past the crowd and out of town.

Her two Fighting companions got back on their feet and ran after her. The Pokemon brought out a pipe and lit it a small flame from his finger.

"Wow! That was so awesome! Thank you, Miss Reona! And you too Master Ty!" the Cubchoo shouted with joy.

"Not a problem, young one. Now run off," the Pokemon, known as a Typhlosion, said.

After the bear left, I looked at the smoking Typhlosion. "You're Master Ty?" I asked him.

"Yep. And you're Reona, right?" he replied.

"Yes, sir. Its a pleasure to meet you," I said with a bow.

Ikanondo, Miss Lass, and our Exploration Teams joined us as we were getting introductions done.

"Good to see you again, Master," Miss Lass said formally.

"Likewise, Dedoria. I see your beauty has improved," Ty complemented.

"Oh? You noticed?" Miss Lass asked, now shaking with giggles.

"Ikanondo, you're looking as buff as ever," Ty said, turning to the Drill Pokemon.

Ikanondo simply saluted, not saying a word.

"And lastly, Team Element. I'm glad to finally see you. Samurott speaks highly of you and just from that scene I witnessed just now, you surpassed my expectations," Ty said.

"Thank you sir," we said in unison.

"Come on. We'll talk more at my office," Ty said, blowing out smoke.

He walked passed the crowd and ahead of us, toward the large building in the distance.

_~Mysterious Cloaked Pokemon's POV~_

After drinking our slushies, we saw as Reona and her group walk off to the building.

"Cruel is expecting us to be with the heads of those Pokemon," my partner said in a low whisper.

"I know. She caught us off guard last time, but this time... We've got her," I said, smiling evilly as I zipped my mouth back up.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	10. Chapter 10

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter X: Battle on the Cold Mountain

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

We stood in a large chamber with lit torches in every corner and a Chandelure hanging from above providing more light.

"Are you doing okay up there?" Ty asked the Chandelure.

"Of course, darling. I shall never rest unless ordered by you my savior of the North," the Chandelure said with giggles.

"She's a Pokemon who's child got in trouble during an avalanche. Guess who saved her?" Ty asked smugly.

"You?" I replied.

"Bingo," Ty said. "Anyway, down to business. The reason why I called you here was because I needed someone rebellous enough to go after Fubuki and capture her."

"You mean miss fashion ice queen?" Zoro asked, making us giggle.

"Yes. Her," Ty replied. "Fubuki is a trouble maker and has threatened the people of this town more than once before. As you saw, she is very self absorbed and always has her way. But when it comes to us, her way is not the right way."

"I agree. She really needs to learn how to be kind to others," Ethereal said.

"That's usually her problem. She never gets along with anybody but herself," Miss Lass said.

"We've had to deal with her junk for 7 years now and that really bothers us," Kiora explained.

"We've tried to enter her Ice Palace before, but the place is heavily protected by multiple traps," Ikanondo said, crossing his arms.

"What about melting the place down?" Jun asked.

"Its proven difficult as the ice is more of a crystal-like substance, unable to be melted down," Ty explained. "Team Frostbite is none too well equipped for this mission and Team Iron Breakers is too big to cross the Trench of Eternal Darkness, so I had to turn to the Center Federation of Exploration Teams. Samurott recommended you and, well, here you are."

"I see. Alright, we'll arrest this Ghastly criminal and bring her to justice," I announced.

"Excellent. The citizens will be so glad to hear this. At long last, our nightmare will end and a rainbow colored aurora will shine above the snow covered North once more," Ty philosophically said.

With that, we (Team Element) went back to town to prepare for our trip.

_~Transition~  
>~Mysterious Cloaked Figure's POV~<em>

"So when must we act?" my partner asked.

"When those four simpletins leave for the Ice Queen's palace, we follow and kill them on the mountain," I explained.

"Heh. I can't wait," my partner jittered.

"Easy. We are still on another mission, remember?"

"Oh right. Finding Project S, our little runaway."

"Percisely. Cruel is depending on us to find it and bring it back unharmed."

"And if it refuses?"

"We use force."

"Cool."

I looked to see a prepared Team Element leave for the gate, signalling us to make our leave.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

The snow covered North as Ty called it was beautiful despite being so gloomy. Many Pokemon tried to block our way, but Ethereal, Jun, and I took care of them; Zoro could not conjure up a Night Slash as he was beginning to catch a cold. Ethereal helped him out with that situation by giving him a Heal Seed, which were like medicine in a pharmacy.

After some time, we manged to make it to the Trench of Eternal Darkness Ty mentioned.

"Whoa. That's deep," Zoro said, looking down at the endless pit.

"Fubuki must really like places like these," I commented. "We need to be careful; the ledge here is a bit narrow."

We "hugged" the icy wall as close as possible, making sure we don't slip. Jun was the first to make it across, then me, then Ethereal, and finally Zoro.

"Wow. Look! I can see the castle from here," Ethereal pointed.

"Yes. And that's about all you'll see."

We stopped to see two cloaked figures walk to the front of us.

"Who..." I began to ask before I recognized their scent.

"Reona... You caused so much pain to our master, Cruel," the left figure said.

"And now... You will pay the consequences," the right figure said.

The two removed their cloaks to reveal themselves as Maria and Toxic.

"Those two again!" Ethereal shouted.

"What are you two doing here in the North?" I asked, glaring at them.

"Besides killing you, we are after an escaped...project. Project S, have you seen it?" Maria asked.

"Truth be told, no," I replied.

"Oh. Well. How cooperative you were just now. I might just let you die swiftly and without pain for once," Maria giggled. "Shadow Ball!"

I dodged the attack but got hit the head by Toxic and his fist.

"Night Slash!" Zoro shouted, jumping at the toad.

"Psychic!" Jun shouted.

The telekinetic energy grabbed Maria and forced her to drop to the ground hard. Me and Ethereal decided to use an old combo of ours.

"Ready?" Ethereal asked me.

I nodded. "Flamethrower!"

"Ice Beam!"

The attacks combined and hit Toxic hard, forcing him far back.

"Damn. These guys are way stronger than we thought," Maria said to her partner.

"Time to change our style of fighting," Toxic said.

"Go ahead and try," I taunted.

"Oh. You'll regret it," Maria said. "Shadow Wave!"

Suddenly, all four of us were hit by strange waves of energy that forced us off our feet. It felt like the gravity just shifted.

"Shadow End!" Toxic shouted, running at me.

The impact from the attack was much more powerful than that of Giga Impact; my rib cage felt crushed just a tackle like that. I was sent back to the edge of the abyss.

"Time for the finishing blow!" Maria shouted. "Shadow Blast!"

I was shot where Toxic tackled me, forcing more pain on my body. The blast also sent me falling into the abyss...unable to do anything...

_~Jun's POV~_

I watched in horror as Reona fell out of view into the abyss. "REONA!" I shouted as tears ran down my face.

I turned to the laughing duo who looked with satisfying eyes. "Pity. That's what one gets for messing with Shadow Pokemon," Maria said.

"Shadow...Pokemon?" I asked.

"Yes. Pokemon who's hearts have been closed off artificially and have a change in personality; an evil personality. Cruel discovered this strange knowledge when he recovered a lost secret file in his monitor. With it, he decided to use the Pokemon as test subjects...one managed to succeed," Maria explained.

"Project S..." I said, realizing what they meant.

"Bingo. Now its time we finished you off, just as we did with your friend," Toxic said with anticipation.

My aura began to show itself as my anger grew to its peak. We were in for quite the battle.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	11. Chapter 11

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter XI: Project S

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Jun's POV~_

Team Element and I were enraged greatly by the loss of our leader, Reona. My aura became physically visible as proof of my anger. But this didn't make Maria or Toxic flinch.

"Oh. How scary. His aura is so scary," Maria taunted sarcasticly.

"Please, boy. Even I thought Reona's fire was scarier than this. Heck even Ratattas are scarier than you," Toxic taunted.

"Perhaps they wish to further see the extent of our new abilities," Maria said, making me worry about that.

There is more than what we saw? This can't be happening. Then, in front of our eyes, both of their auras began to show just as mine did. But their's was red in color. Just as their aura showed, their eyes glowed blood red and...horrifyingly, their energy increased dramatically.

Maria's form began to grow from small to the size of me. Her zipper mouth turned into sharp jaws that grinned with sinister evil; her body grew spikes that ran down her her growing tail, as if an external spine; the spikes and the ribbon on her head disappeared, giving her a crown with the exact aura she had; and lastly her hands turned into sharps 3-fingered claws.

Toxic's form changed as well. His size grew as well, just as much as Maria's did. His single claws on each of his hands turned into a full set of claws, replacing the fingers; this also occured on his feet too; spikes grew throughout his back and down the first portion of his arms. The bulge on his throat contained the essence of his shadowy aura and his mouth had sharp jaws inside instead of the usual teeth.

Both forms were equally more terrifying and equally more powerful than their usual forms. But we stood ready.

"So, Toxic. Shall we punish these fools!" Maria shouted as the insanity became obvious in her tone.

"Harhar! Let's!" Toxic shouted, cracking his knuckles.

Zoro began the battle by using Night Slash at Maria. But it proved ineffective as the attack stopped at her stomach. With a single smirk, Maria kicked Zoro to a wall and mercilessly pounded him with her claws; in mere seconds, he was bleeding throughout his entire body.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Ethereal shouted as she ran at Maria in an attempt to tackle her.

But she was stopped by a single stomp on her body from Toxic. His foot crushed her until blood gushed out all at once. I could not believe it. In only mere seconds, all three of my friends were taken down by the two most wanted. They both laughed at our failure. What the hell was I going to do?

"Harhar! Only one left," Toxic stated.

"Yeah. This was way too boring and short in this form," Maria said. "Let's see how long he'll last before he dies from out torture."

I did not like the sound of that at all.

"Payback, punk, for what you and that pathetic little runt did to me back that castle of Kramzak's," Toxic said as he began charging up a strange energy induced punch.

I dodged the punch but the energy itself still managed to hit me.

"Kramzak. What a fool. The good king himself thought we were supplying him with more power to add for success, but it the opposite way around," Maria explained. "We simply used him to gain more troops, then dump him afterwards. Javaline proved very useful for the job. Too bad we couldn't take out two birds with one stone."

After her brief explanation, she kicked me in my thigh, making me scream in pain. She then dug her claws into my chest.

"Don't worry. I'll shut the whole thing off at once," she said.

I felt my heart getting poked. I tried to do something but Toxic held me down.

"Well, kill him already!" Toxic ordered.

This was it. I'm done for.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

_...Ugh... My head..._

I opened my eyes to find myself in a strange cavern. But how did I get here? I suddenly remembered falling down the abyss after Maria's attack hit me, but afterwards, nothing. I could only conclude that someone or something saved me before I plunged to my death.

"Are you hurt?" a voice asked, startling me.

I looked around to see where the voice was, but all I found was ice everywhere. "Who... Where... Who spoke?" I asked back.

". . . . . . . . . ." No reply.

Suddenly an apple dropped from above and landed in front of me. I took notice of the bandages on me, covering my legs and where Toxic and Maria hit me. I took the apple and began eating it, being cautious though.

"I'm sorry. I can't reveal myself to you. Not until I can truly trust you," the voice said.

"Well. Don't you have a name?" I asked.

"...no. I can't remember who I am or where I came from," the voice said.

"That's sad," I said. "Come now. You can trust me. I'm not known to be untrustworthy by anybody."

"...Will you scream?" the voice asked.

"Huh?"

"Will you scream if you see me?" the voice repeated.

"No," I said.

"Okay. I'm coming down," the voice said.

What I saw after a moment had passed was a Pokemon. A rare Pokemon to be sure. It was an Eevee. A Gray Eevee, but not a shiny Pokemon. It had a ring of black fur instead of the occasional gray. It also wore a blue scarf around its neck.

"Wow. Why would anyone scream at you?" I asked, curious as of why.

"I'm not too sure myself. Why are they scared of me?" the Eevee asked back.

Then I noticed a strange glow of red aura radiate of his body. This must've been why.

"I see why now. Its your aura. It has a very strong sense of power to it," I pointed out.

"Oh. I guess that's a reason to be scared, but why not you?" he asked.

"I've dealt with worse things, such as Cruel before," I admitted.

"Cruel! You know him! Are one of his henchmen!" the Eevee shouted.

"No no. I just know the guy. He and I are sworn enemies. I'm a human-turned Pokemon known as Reona," I said.

"A human?" the Eevee asked.

I nodded. "Say. What are you called?" I asked.

"By that monster? Project S," the Eevee replied, clenching a paw.

"So you're Project S?" I asked.

"Yes. Did a henchman tell you about me?" he asked back.

"Only that Cruel is after you," I replied. "What does the 'S' stand for anyway?"

"Project Shadow," the Eevee said. "I heard it from Cruel himself when I woke up inside a pod. Cruel was going to create an army of Shadow Pokemon that would cater to his whim, starting with the 5 regions and going for the entire world. I was only the start."

"What exactly is a Shadow Pokemon?" I continued to ask.

"A Shadow Pokemon is an geneticly enhance Pokemon that is quadrupuled in strength and fierceness. Their own hearts are closed in the process in order to make them mindless, killing machines. I was the first successful Shadow Pokemon," the Eevee explained.

"That would explain the hostages I saved a few days ago," I said, stroking my chin with my paw. I then remembered something. "Oh crap! I forgot I was on a mission with my friends."

"Friends?" the Eevee asked.

"Yeah. I was with my friends until we ran into Cruel's lunkheads, Maria and Toxic," I explained. "I've got to finish the mission!"

"But what of your friends?" the Eevee asked as I got up and limped my way to an incline stairway going up.

"Don't worry. I know Jun. He doesn't go down easy. Besides, if he died now, I would have felt it. That's how close we are," I explained.

"...Then allow me to assist you in your mission then. You won't make it very far in your condition. Especially without your friends," the Eevee said, sounding a bit higher pitched.

I looked at the Eevee to see that his scarf had changed colors; it was a red scarf now. And he had eyelashes that I've never seen him have before.

"What the..." I said, shocked.

"Oh. Yeah. I suppose I accidently changed my gender," the Eevee said, scratching his...her head.

"Changed you gender?" I asked, now really confused.

"Yeah. Its a result of my changing into a Shadow Pokemon; my gender will periodically change. Its how I'm unique compared to other Shadow Pokemon," the Eevee said. "Another thing that makes me unique is my ability to change into my evolve forms at will."

". . . . . . . . . ."

"I think I just came up with a name for you," I said. "I'm calling you Shadeon. You are a Shadow Pokemon and your evolved forms all have -eon at the end of their names. Like it?"

"Its nice. Thank you," Shadeon said, smiling.

"Alright come on. Let's go defeat and capture Fubuki," I said, running up the incline, Shadeon following close.

_~Transition~  
>~Maria's POV~<em>

"Well, kill him already!" Toxic ordered.

Just as I readied to stab the Lucario to death, I was suddenly hit by a rolling flame and sent me flying off of Jun. The attacker went back and also hit Toxic, forcing him off too.

"What the hell?" I asked myself as I recovered from the sudden attack.

The wheel of flame disappeared to reveal a Typhlosion with a pipe in his mouth.

"Hi. The name's Ty, and today's special is a hot bowl of burn!" the Typhlosion shouted, cracking his knuckles.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued... (sick of this aren't you)<br>Shadeon is a free to use OC, feel free to ask me for it.**_


	12. Chapter 12

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter XII: The True Power of the Federation

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Kizone's POV~_

I walked into the cafe to find a familiar figure sipping a bottle of alcohol, and with him, a Gligar with a bag on his back. I walked up to the figure, who immediately recognized as Kumo.

"Still on the drinks I see," I said, startling Kumo.

"Huh? Kizone! Hey, buddy. How are you?" Kumo said, seemingly not drunk.

"Hey, Kumo. You know this guy?" the Gligar asked.

"Oh right. Um. Bandit, Kizone; Kizone, Bandit," Kumo quickly introduced.

"Nice to meet you," I said with a smile.

"Same here. Would you like to see merchan-" Bandit suddenly stopped when he noticed Posia, sitting at a table across from where we were sitting, glaring at him. "...N-nevermind..."

"So what brings you here, Kizone?" Kumo asked.

"...Just thought youmight be interested to know that I'm going to fight Cruel in his base soon," I said, lying back on the table.

"Huh! Are you nuts!" Kumo shouted, recieving a "SHHH!" from everyone in the cafe.

"Not at all," I said.

"You know Cruel is dangerous. And out of his millions of victims, only one survived; Reona," Kumo said quieter, but angrily.

"I know. But we, the FET, have just recently discovered his home base underground. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to finally end his reign of terror forever," I explained. "But before I went, I wanted to see if you were sure on your decision in leaving the FET."

"...yes. My decision is final. There's no way to change my mind," Kumo said, taking another drink of his drink.

"I see... Very well, I won't force you into something you don't want to be apart of," I said. I got up from the table and got ready to leave, but stopped for a moment. "Just to saying, you were once a fine member of the FET...and to me, a great friend."

I heard no response and simply took my leave. With no delay or second thoughts, I headed East for a discovered cave entrance leading to the Dark Caverns.

_~Transition~  
>~Ty's POV~<em>

The attacks the two monstrous Pokemon, Maria and Toxic, threw at me were fierce but barely anything to me. Everytime they came into close range, I simply punched and kicked them away from me; if they used long ranged attacks, I retaliated with Flamethrower. While I was fighting, my Audino squad were tending to Team Element and their wounds.

"Err... This is annoying!" Maria complained after landing softly back on the ground.

"Yeah. No wonder he's known to be the Master of the North; he's just that tough," Toxic said, clenching his claws.

"Had enough already?" I taunted, taking a smoke at my pipe.

"Shut up!" Toxic shouted angrily, running at me.

Maria appeared behind me and tried to attack me at my blind spot, but I knew their game.

"Eruption!" I shouted.

I shot a wave of flames at both Maria and Toxic, sending them both flying in opposite directions.

"I can't believe this! Who the hell is this guy!" Toxic shouted angrily.

"I am Ty, the one who is pounding you to the ground," I taunted.

Toxic, now truly upset, ran at me, claws ready to strike me down; Maria doing the same thing.

"Shadow..."

"...END!"

I jumped into the air and readied my most powerful attack.

"Fire...BLAST!" I shouted.

My furious flames hit downward at Maria and Toxic causing them to return to their original forms. Once the smoke cleared, I landed softly on the snow. The two killer Pokemon struggled to get on their feet.

"Son of a bitch..." Maria sweared. "...This guy is too strong."

"I see now why Cruel strictly said to avoid the guy at all costs," Toxic said.

I cracked my knuckles, making them shake in fear. "Let's get out of here," Maria said.

The two cowardous Pokemon escaped into the snow covered mountains as I watched with slightly little care. I turned my attention toward Team Element who had finally recovered.

"There. All done," the Audino healing Jun said as her ears retracted.

Jun woke up to find me and the Audino standing beside him. "Master Ty? What happened?"

I smiled, but remembered that Reona wasn't around. Where did she go?

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

Shadeon and I finally made it to the bridge of Fubuki's Crystal Palace.

"There it is," Shadeon pointed out. "That's Fubuki's Palace. The lady herself is on the top floor."

"Well. Come on. Let's get this over with," I said ready to go.

Shadeon nodded as she and I ran toward the crystal clear fort.

_~Transition~  
>~Kizone's POV~<em>

I could feel it in this cave. The aura of pure evil was severely strong here. My fur stood on end as the aura continued to brush my senses rapidly. No doubt, this was the lair of Cruel.

I ran down the cave and made every possible turn. The cave became eerier and eerier as I got deeper and deeper. It was a while before I made my way to a giant circular platform hanging above a pit that was surely very deep. In the center of the platform sat Cruel himself.

"Hmhmhmhm. Kizone. So we finally meet at last," Cruel said, chuckling. "Welcome to my personal sanctuary. Meet yourself at home."

"Cruel. You know why I am here," I said forcefully.

"To kill me. I am aware of this. But I needn't worry. You are just a bug that isn't careful enough to avoid being crushed...by me," Cruel taunted.

I glared deeply at the monster that had killed so many innocent lives in the past few years he has lived. Today it ended, once and for all.

"Your life ends here, Cruel," I said, readying my aura for battle.

"Oh does it now?" Cruel chuckled as he turned toward me. "You have guts, Kizone, but you are nowhere near as powerful as a future god like me."

"You are no god to me, or anyone else," I said, positioning myself.

"Hmph. So you say. But you forget your place," Cruel said.

Cruel jumped into the air and began floating. Without (but very expected) warning, Cruel lashed out at me. But I dodged his attacks. I basically followed the same defense pattern as Reona did when she fought Cruel last time. However, Cruel was as dumb as I hoped (even if he is intelligent) as he smacked me off the platform with his tentacle. I held on to the edge, but Cruel was relentless; his tentacles came at me with full force, knocking me off.

"Psychic!" I shouted quickly.

Using my telekinetic energy, I made my body less heavier and made it easier to land softly. But my horror was yet to end as Cruel crashed down where I just landed. But his attempt to crush me failed when I forced him off with Dragon Pulse. But not even that was enough to slow him down.

I continued to dodge multitudes of Cruel's tentacle barrages, but, as I said before, he was relentless.

"Aura Sphere!"

I quick charged a sphere of my aura energy and threw it at Cruel, but it simply encouraged him to try harder to hit me.

"This is getting rather repetitive," Cruel said, for once, I agreeing with him. "Hydro Pump!"

Cruel shot a huge stream of water at me, forcing me to a wall. After the waterworks subsided (along with the bells ringing in my head), the monstrous Jellyfish sent a massive barrage of tentacles at me, slashing and cutting me until blood rushed everywhere over my body.

"I...won't...give in..." I said, panting frantically as the blood rushed out of my body fast.

I was really in a bind. If was going down, I may as well take him with me. I prepared for my most powerful attack.

"What are you planning now, boy?" Cruel asked. "No matter what you try, it won't change the outcome of the fight."

As he said that, my aura level reached its peak, meaning I was ready. I jumped into the air and began to charge my attack.

"Aura...STORM!" I shouted, shooting out a beam of aura directly at an unfazed Cruel.

Explosions were heard loudly as the earth-shattering beam destroyed most of the field surrounding Cruel, leaving a massive hole that led deeper into a true abyss of darkness. My attack finally subsided, leaving me tired and exhausted, especially with the massive blood loss. I landed on what was left of the field and waited patiently to see if Cruel was alive or not. I sighed a breath of relief when I didn't sense Cruel. But it short lived as I got grabbed by the neck by Cruel. He was left unscratched by even my fiercest attack.

"Pity, Kizone. You should have listened when I told you that the outcome would not change," Cruel said. "If at all possible, I could have made you into a Shadow Pokemon. With your strength, you could easily wipe out the entire Federation, but now it is too late for."

I struggled to say something, but I managed. "N...Never underestimate the Federation," I said faintly.

"Hm?"

"We may be weak incests that you can just crush to you and the rest of Team Cruel, but... There is something you don't know about us. We never give up. No matter what, no matter the outcome, no matter what we lost or gained, we continue to serve as heroes to a nation we worked hard to build. Pokemon gather about and join hand-in-hand to protect the lands we live in, never once giving in to evil, no matter how strong it seems. You can call us weak, but we are strong. You can crush us all you want, but we manage to stand up even stronger than before. Our will shall burn with a flame that you will never extinguish, try as you must. Even if I were to die, this will not stop the Federation to move forward. No. Not just the Federation; all the Pokemon. Reona, Jun, Ethereal all have a spirit you can never crush, no matter how many times you try. Spirit. Trust. Friendship. And will. These are the key elements... THE KEY ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP A PROUD FEDERATION! A place that I'm happy to call my home. And the people I trust, I'm happy to call them my family. Without them, I wouldn't have made it this far in my life. They are my reason to keep going, my reason to live. But even if I die, my legacy will not. Someone will carry out what I tried to do and succeed in my place. And that same someone will stop you, no matter what. You can play god all you want, but it is only a matter of time... The true power of the Federation... it is the will, heart, and soul to keep moving, never stopping, destroying whatever obstacle that may try to stop them. The Federation of Exploration Teams and everyone in it...their hearts shall burn, their spirits will shine, and their will shall fight," I speeched, recieving multiple glares from Cruel. "You can never break us."

Without any warning, I felt for a short second pain come to my heart; physical pain. My vision slowly turned dark as my strength faded. My body went cold as my life left me. But as I died, I saw for the last time my love; the one who I longed to see for a long time...Gyoria.

My tears...were the last thing...I felt... My tears...of joy...

_~Cruel's POV~_

The body of Kizone fell into the pit, but his words continously ran through my head. We would soon see if I am truly unable to break them.

_~Transition~  
>~Kumo's POV~<em>

As Bandit and I returned to our normal routine, a sudden sicken pulse washed over me. It was the same pulse I felt when my friend died to Team Charm.

"K-Kizone?" I called out softly.

"Huh? Something wrong?" Bandit asked.

I ignored him. I felt it...Kizone was...dead... "K-Kizone..." I said, my legs feeling wobbly as if jelly. "Why... Why did you..."

Then it hit me...

_~Flashback~  
>~5 years ago~<em>

Kizone and I sat near the Pelipper Post Office, on the cliff. I was enjoying a sweet apple the Lucario gladly bought for me with his own money.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about, Kizone?" I asked, swallowing the apple pieces.

"It's interesting that a girl like Reona could have so much spirit and determination, isn't it?" Kizone said, confusing me.

"I guess so," I said.

"Listen. I know what you went through. You lost someone precious to you and so have I. As a friend, I just want to help you recover from your ordeal; I can tell that you have not," Kizone said, placing a paw on my shoulder.

"...How can you tell?" I asked, stopping my chewing.

"...Instincts... And as I said, I know what you went through. In case you need it, dead or alive, I'll always be here to lend support," Kizone said.

I had no idea what he spoke of by that, but I accepted his offer.

_~Flashback End~_

"I understand now... Kizone... felt me as his brother... We were so much a like, despite being so different... And... And...I let him down..." I said, tears coming out of my eyes.

"Kumo?" Bandit called. "Are you okay?"

"Sniff... I've made up my mind..." I said, looking up at the sun. "I'm going back...to the FET."

"You are?" Bandit asked.

"Yeah...for Kizone...for my brother..." I said.

"Great... I hope things turn out well."

I nodded before making haste toward the FET in order to reclaim my former glory. This time, Team Charm wasn't going to bring me down. Never again.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_

_**On a side note, on the weekend I am available for WiFi battles. Feel interested, please message me. Just something to break the tension of this chapter.**_


	13. Chapter 13

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter XIII: What Melts Ice Again?

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><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Jun's POV~_

"...so that's the story," Ty said.

I just got done telling Master Ty what had happened and why Reona wasn't with us. Even though Ty wasn't heart broken, the rest of us were.

"Yeah. We're sorry, but we can't do the rest of the mission without Reona..." I said.

Ty placed a hand on my shoulder. "Not to worry, Jun," Ty said with a smile. "Reona is alive, I can feel it. But you should feel ashamed, giving your friend and leader less credit than she deserves. She is a lot more powerful than you think."

I looked downward at the snow. His words made me feel guilty about believing Reona was dead.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"We are taking you back to town; Reona should be okay with completing the mission on her own. I have confidence in her," Ty said, smoking his pot.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

Shadeon and I ran through the bridge as quickly as we could, though the palace was still very far away.

"Sweet Groudon's banana pudding, how far is this damn palace!" I shouted in frustration.

"Um... Another 100 miles," Shadeon replied.

I paused dead in my tracks. ONE HUNDRED MILES! ...

_~4 whole hours and lots of complaining later~_

"Well. That wasn't so bad..." Shadeon said. "...Reona?"

I collapsed from exhaustion, trying to catch my breath. And the cold wasn't really helping.

"You okay?" Shadeon asked.

"...I...am...never...hiking...again..." I said between pants.

I pulled myself together and walked to the front of the door. With a single bash of my head, I opened the door. We then enter the massive palace, ready to face off against Fubuki.

_~Transition~_

In the lowest floor, we took in the amazing view of the place. Everywhere we looked there was crystal. Crystal vases, crystal pillars, even a crystal chandelier. My only comment was "Wow."

"Fubuki should be in the top floor," Shadeon stated.

Shadeon made her body glow and transformed into a Flareon, green (Red) and forest green (Yellow) fur. Her scarf also changed color, blue, meaning she was a boy.

"What's with the sudden change?" I asked.

"I suspect there are a lot of Ice Types on the way up so its in my best interest that we be prepared," Shadeon explained.

"Fair enough," I said, a little confused.

Before we proceeded though, an orb of light appeared behind me, which I turned to. It was the same orb of light that took me to the strange where I found the picture. Like then, it wanted me to follow it. It led us up the stairs and to some strange writing on the wall; it looked very ancient, like it was here even before Fubuki even existed.

It read: "Ye who is chosen, let the burning flame of your heart be your guide to the light beyond the shadows. Follow your destiny and never look back. - The Sage of..." The rest of the ancient writing was cut off.

"What does it mean?" Shadeon asked.

"...I wish I knew," I said.

Suddenly, my vision became blurry. All went dark as my body fell to the ground.

_~Transition~_

I woke up to find myself in a strange world. Nothing was here; no sky, no grass, the air felt very thick too, as if oxygen didn't exist. It was odd. And kinda eerie. What was I looking at?

"RAAAAWWWWR!"

The sudden noise startled me out of my trane of thought. Was there another creature with me? Large foot steps were heard, and my body began to shake from fear. Whatever it was, it brought me to the side of fear. Without hesitation, I ran for my life going through the endless of white, seeing no end to it. What was this world?

Upon my running, I walked into Dialga.

"Dialga! What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Reona... I could ask the same for you," Dialga said.

"I don't even know what I'm doing here. What is 'here' anyway?" I asked, nearly frustrated with seeing this world.

"...it is your home...in 4 months," Dialga said.

"WHAT!" I shouted. "M...My home? But where is everyone? Where are the people?"

"...gone. Everything got completely erased from existence," Dialga replied. "The only reason why you and I are not gone is because we are not entirely here. Here, there is no time, no space, no people, no Pokemon... Just the creature who destroyed this world along with our home."

"...Your world got..." I began to ask.

"Here, yes. But in the present, not yet," Dialga replied. "As much as I like to continue our chat, this is not the place for it. Good luck, Reona."

The diamond in Dialga's chest glowed with blue energy and with a flash of light, my vision turned dark once more.

_~Transition~_

I woke up to find myself back in Fubuki's Palace, right where I blacked out.

"Reona!" Shadeon shouted, worried for me. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I don't know. I was just suddenly taken to the...future," I said.

I explained what happened the best I could, most of which gave Shadeon a mind=blown moment.

"So you saw a terrifying future where nothing but a monster existed?" Shadeon asked, trying to understand.

"Well. All I heard was a roar from the monster, nothing more as I just ran from it," I replied.

"...I see..." Shadeon said. "We should get moving, we've dawdled enough as it is."

"You're right. Come on," I said, leading the charge into the only visible entrance we saw.

_~Transition~  
>~Fubuki's POV~<em>

As I was enjoying some of my nicely made hot cocoa and looking at my beautiful crystals, one of my Snover guards walked in...UNANNOUNCED MIGHT I ADD.

"Lady Fubuki! We have just discovered intruders inside the palace!" the Snover said.

I spat out my hot cocoa at such news. "What! I thought those roughien Team Iron Breakers couldn't get in as long as the Trench was in their way!" I shouted at the Snover.

"Well...it isn't really them..." the Snover said. "It is a Ninetales and a strangely colored Flareon, Lady ma'am."

"...Ninetales?..." I asked.

It must've been that rude peasant from town who, along with Ty, made me leave without finishing my unfinished business.

"Lady Fubuki!" my bodyguard, Stretch, called. "If you don't mind, let us handle those peasants for you!"

"Very well. You and Brute are in charge of getting rid of those fools," I ordered.

"Yes, ma'am Lady!" Stretch saluted. "Come on Brute!"

My idiot bodyguards left to deal with those intruders while I took my leave to the roof of my beautiful palace.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

Shadeon and I ran through the many halls of the palace, defeating any guards that got in our way, burning them with our combined flames. I had to admit, with how beautiful the palace was, Fubuki had some very lousy guards. But it did bring back memories.

We made it to a big room with tons of crystal punching bags; must've been the exercise room. As we marveled at the creative art of making crystal into punching bags, we were stopped by two very big fellows, a Hitmonlee and a Machamp. Or one averagely sized guy and one big brute.

"Hold it intruders!" the Hitmonlee shouted at us.

"Um. Hi. Do you mind moving aside?" I asked nicely.

"Sorry. No can do," the Hitmonlee said. "Stretch -me- and my buddy here, Brute, are here to beat the living snot out of you two and then let Fubuki kill you."

"...Is it just me or are these two not very scary?" Shadeon asked.

"It definitely isn't just you," I said. "Listen...um...Stretch, I really wish we could play with you guys, but we have important stuff to handle, so why not just move aside and save yourself the pain."

"Sorry, babe. Isn't how it works here in the North. Its either do or die," Stretch said.

Brute clashed his four fists together, telling us he was ready to pound- and to be pounded.

"...sigh. Okay. If it will shut you two up. We'll fight," I said, not really interested.

"Alright! Blaze Kick!" Stretch shouted, jumping into the air with a fire producing foot.

I simply stood there and took the hit, or the power up with my ability Flash Fire. He looked at me for a moment before realizing that his attack didn't work.

"Done?" I asked politely.

"Yeah. Pretty much," he said honestly.

"Okay. Sorry for this," I said.

I used my powered up Flamethrower on Stretch, BBQing him into a crisp and knocking him out.

As for Shadeon, he dodged the Machamp's barrages of punches and soon led him to a punching bag. I looked at the bell beside me and thought of a good idea.

I rung the bell, giving the Machamp the impression that the punching bag was his enemy. He punched it with massive fury before he flex-punched the punching bag into submission. And then he got burnt by Shadeon's Flamethrower.

"Well...That was easy," Shadeon said.

"Yep. I know underleveled Pokemon when I see them. I've beaten two teams of them before," I admitted.

"Well. Shall we?" Shadeon asked gentlemanly.

"We shall," I replied lady-like.

We exited the room and continued up the palace.

Once again, we swept passed the guards with fire attacks... Nothing really to say about that.

_~30 minutes of fiery parading up the palace later~_

We came to a room where there was only a chair and tons of crystal facing it.

"This must be Fubuki's private study," Shadeon said.

"Private study? Why would she need one?" I asked as I took a closer look at the chair. After sniffing it, my fox instincts took play. "This way," I led as we headed up the stairs leading to the last section of the palace.

_~Yay. More burning. 20 minutes of redundancy later~_

We soon made it to the very top of the palace, the roof of it, to find Fubuki standing near an icy wall.

"Grrr. I know there is something beautiful passed this wall...but how can I get it?" Fubuki asked impatiently.

"Hey!" I called out.

She quickly turned to us, startled by our sudden appearance.

"Wha! You're here!" Fubuki shouted. "Oh, I mean... Welcome to my personal Crystal paradise. If its the dunfeon you are looking for, just head down those steps and down to the basement."

"Thanks, but we're not here for a free tour," I said, growling at the Froslass. "You are under arrest for causing harm to the citizens of the North."

"Me? What about them?" Fubuki redirected the question. "Those peasants are what causes the natural disasters to happen. They're clumsy, dumd, rude, and very unpleasant to look at. Such creatures are better left sleeping in a coffin made of ice...no dirt. Yes, dirt. Because that's what pigs like those eat. Pigs like that peasant Cubchoo who rudely hit me with his ball and sneezed on me. EWWW! Such as that, I will simply get rid of such trash."

"Uh-huh... We really could care less about what you have to say," Shadeon said.

"How rude! Well, you are just a simple Pokemon who can just roll in the crap that comes out of your ass!" Fubuki shouted insultingly. "And you. You are nothing but a useless, ugly, ugly, super ugly Pokemon who has nothing to live for. How about that?"

"...Are you done talking?" I asked, very annoyed.

"Oh? Was that weeping I heard? Are you crying?" Fubuki asked, giggling to herself.

"No," I replied bluntly. "I'm just sick and tired of your mouth. You're insults are just as lame as your guards; I am nothing like other girls, except for BEING a girl. Girls avoid being dirty, I don't mind a little mud; girls put on make-up, I'm all natural; girls don't take insults very well, I smack those insults in the face. To put it simply. You. Are. Nothing. But. TRASH! YOUR! SELF!"

A sudden wind blew as things went momentarily quiet. "...You. You! YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Fubuki shouted angrily.

Fubuki created a hailstorm with a single snap of her fingers. With the storm, she hid in the shadows, preparing to strike. We really did not like this; simply put Froslass were much more annoying hailstorms because of how tricky they could be to hit.

Fubuki, while she in the hailstorm, used Ominous Wind and Psychic on us, proving effective and dangerous.

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of hail," Shadeon said.

"What are complaining about? You can be a Glaceon at anytime you want," I said back.

"Good point, but now's not the time to say that," Shadeon said, dodging a Psychic attack.

We were in quite the bind. Everytime the hail began to disappear, Fubuki renewed it with another hailstorm, keeping her hidden. And because we were just dodging, we were running out of breath. If things kept up like this, we were really in trouble.

It soon showed too. Fubuki's attack, Ominous Wind hit its target (Shadeon), knocking him out. And to make matters worse, it also increased her stats like it normally did. The hail disappeared but I was struck down easily by Fubuki.

"This is what peasants like you get for insulting your Queen!" Fubuki shouted as she began to strangle me with Psychic

My breath could not come out as her Psychic attack added pressure every second that passed. Just as it seemed to be over for me, a barrages of blasts came and nearly hit Fubuki. It was Draco Meteor!

"What the hell!" the Ice Queen shouted.

I looked up in the sky to see a familiar three-headed creature. The creature landed next to me with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Reona," the creature said.

"ZWE! It's you!" I shouted, happy to see him.

"Yeah. Sorry for my being late, but me and Reshi got kinda lost," Zwe admitted.

"Where is the big Legendary of Truth anyway?" I asked.

"She couldn't stand the cold anymore and decided to leave for her tower. With how much fur she had, she still could not stand the cold," Zwe explained. "She is full of it. I swear."

We redirected our attention back to Fubuki who was less than amused by her getting interrupted by a giant 3-headed dragon.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here, monster. You will die with this peasant for interrupting me," Fubuki announced.

"Try me then. I've been watching your every tactic," Zwe said, grinning confidently.

"We'll see," Fubuki said.

She summoned another hailstorm and hid in it. Fortunately, Zwe wasn't affected by Psychic and Ominous Wind little to nothing to him. But like Shadeon and I were earlier, he was blind to the hail. But he still smiled confidently.

"Uh. Zwe. Aren't you going to do something?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. Sorry," Zwe said. "I was just seeing if she would something different. Okay. SUNNY DAY!"

With a massive roar, the hail clouds disappeared and shined forth a sun with intense heat.

"What!" Fubuki shouted, shocked by the sudden change in climate.

Zwe nodded to me, telling me to attack. I got up and jumped at the confused Fubuki.

"Blast...BURN!" I shouted.

My attack, added with Sunny Day still in play, hit Fubuki with flames as hot as the sun that shined. That power was enough to make Fubuki fall to the ground with no energy left to fight.

"We did it!" I shouted.

I took the time to roar in victory at the sun that shined. It was deserving. I then looked around to notice Shadeon was suddenly gone. Where did he go?

"Nice work, Reona," Zwe said.

"Nah. It was thanks to you I managed to beat her. If you hadn't come when you did...well..." I admitted.

"Hm. What do you say we wrap up Ol' Ice Queen there and take her to Master Ty as a heart warming gift?" Zwe asked in suggestion.

"Sure thing," I replied.

_~Transition~_

Zwe and I returned to the snowy town with a tied up Fubuki, Stretch, and Brute. When we did, every cheered for our success.

"Wow! She did it!"

"I never doubted her for a second!"

"Can I get her autograph?"

Ty, Team Element, and the little Cubchoo I saved earlier walked toward me and Zwe.

"Reona!" Zoro shouted.

"You're alive!" Ethereal shouted after.

"Welcome back!" Jun shouted after after.

Ty chuckled as he approached me. "Excellent work, Reona. You really proved to be a hardhitter Explorer," Ty complemented. "And just as thanks for your success, you are welcome to come here anytime you wish."

The Cubchoo walked to me holding his ball to me. "Here, miss Reona. Me and my friends would you to have this. Its an Orb my grandpa gave me when I last saw him," the Cubchoo said. "I'm sure it will prove useful."

"Thank you, little guy," I said, accepting the Orb.

The Cubchoo then walked to the glaring Fubuki and did the cutest and funniest thing ever. He sneezed on her and she rolled backwards, being dramatic about snot on her kimono. Everyone laughed at this scene.

"That's what you get for calling a future Explorer a peasant!" the Cubchoo shouted. He then walked back to me. "Miss Reona. I hope I become just like you one day."

Team Frostbite and Team Iron Breakers stepped out of the crowd with smiles on their faces. They (except for the leaders) took the villians away to the Federation building to be trialed for their crimes.

"No! Not fair! Not fair!" Fubuki shouted as she was dragged.

Jun looked at the sky and gasped. "Look! Up there!"

Everyone turned and looked at the sky. There was a rainbow-colored aurora in the sky shining brightly.

"Its back!"

"Yay! Now we can live happily again!"

Ikanondo turned to the crowd and raised a fist in the air. "LET'S HEAR IT FOR... REONA! THE SAVIOR OF THE NORTH!"

"HIPP HIPP HOORAY! HIPP HIPP HOORAY! HIPP HIPP HOORAY!" everyone shouted in unison.

I blushed as they cheered for me. I really shouldn't be taking all the credit, but what can you do? My friends understood at least.

_~Transition~_

Me, my team, along with Zwe, and Ty stood at the coast where Lapras was resting patiently.

"Well. I hope you come back to see us," Ty said, smiling brightly. "You made everyone as happy as they could be once more."

"No no. I was just doing my job, nothing more," I said.

"No need to be modest, Reona," Lapras laughed. "Anyway, I recieved word from Samurott. He needs us back immediately for something of the highest priority."

"On it," I said. My team jumped onto Lapras' back and headed off. "We'll visit sometime! I promise!"

"I'll hold it to you!" Ty shouted back. "Goodbye my friend!"

As we left the North, I took in the sight of the amazing aurora before it disappeared and our home came into view. Now we could concentrate on defeating Cruel once again.

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><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	14. Chapter 14

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter XIV: A Great Loss

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><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

"We have arrived," Lapras said docking at the shore.

We were back from our trip in the North. But for some reason, something wasn't right. As if something foul filled the air. After we got off of Lapras we were approached by Posia.

"Hey Posia. Are you of the welcome party?" I asked.

She didn't reply. She simply looked at us with sadness in her expression.

"Posia?" Jun called.

"...I'm sorry, Reona..." Posia said, in perfect English.

"Whoa. You are speaking perfectly! ...But why are you sorry?" I asked.

"...Um... Samurott will explain...It is too much for me to bare..." Posia said.

She turned away from us and ran off, tears being flung into the air. We didn't know how to react; we just simply walked to the FET building. Everyone in the Federation were discussing something and when asked what was up, they simply silenced themselves. Even Wigglytuff and Lopunny wouldn't tell us what was going on. So we just went to Samurott's Office. Once there, we saw Samurott, also with a sad expression, sitting on his shell chair.

"Welcome back, Team Element," he said, noticing us.

"Why is it so quiet in town, sir?" Ethereal asked.

"Yeah. We were sort of expecting a 'Welcome Back' party or something," Zoro said.

"...Well. We were gong to throw one, but...the unexpected happened," Samurott said. "It happened only sometime ago and in such a blur. One of our youthful underground teams found Kizone...dead..."

"WHAT!" we shouted in unison.

"Yes. We were shocked too. One of our best Master Ranked Explorers was found dead...by the tentacles of that foul Cruel no less," Samurott explained. "A funeral was held not too long ago. All except you two paid their respects to him before he was buried."

We were petrified by such news. Our ex-mentor, our friend, was dead... It was so much to take in all at once.

"DAMN IT ALL!" I shouted, slamming a paw on the ground in sheer rage.

My sudden reaction took everyone by surprise, even Samurott (to a certain extent). I was so angry about Kizone's death that I actually felt my viens pulsing.

"Reona? Are you..." Zoro began to ask.

"SHUT UP!" I shouted, blowing a Flamethrower at him (Ethereal and Jun barely dodging).

He collapsed onto the floor, bruised badly. Zwe looked in horror at Zoro before cowering. Jun tried to calm him down the best he could while Ethereal jumped in front of me with glares in her eyes.

"Reona! What's with you!" she shouted at me.

"What do you think is wrong with me! I'm MAD!" I roared back.

"So are we, but that's no excuse to just burn your friends like that!" Ethereal shouted.

"YOU SHUT UP TOO!" I shouted, using my Flamethrower on her as well.

I huffed and puffed, glaring at Zwe and Jun who looked at me with confused and horrified looks. Before I could do much, I was knocked out cold by the only other Pokemon inthe room.

_~Jun's POV~_

Reona fell to the ground, unconcious. Samurott, putting away his sword, walked to me with a look of disappointment.

"I never really thought she would act like this... Truth be told, I was expect that sort from you, Jun," he said.

"...It isn't her fault, sir. She didn't mean it," I said. "We know Reona very well. She wouldn't do this on purpose... Its just..."

"No need to tell me. I know the reason," Samurott said. "I would normally take her to the prison center, but I will just give her a simple slap on the wrist." Samurott turned to the door. "MAGNEMITE! TAKE THIS NINETALES TO THE UNUSED PRISON!"

"Yes, sir!"

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

I woke up to find myself in a rundown stone prison. I looked around to see Jun sitting on the other side of the bars.

"Morning, Reona," he said.

I didn't reply. I just laid down in depression for both Kizone's death and my anger being taken out on my friends.

"Listen, I know you are depressed and all. But I just want to let you know that Zoro and Ethereal are going to be fine. There were no serious injuries on them," Jun explained. "Zoro forgives for your reaction, saying that you acted the same way when your mom died; as for Ethereal, she's being stubborn, but she forgives you as well." I huffed loudly. "Samurott says that he wishes for us to continue our duties as an Exploration Team and put this whole thing behind us...not matter how much it hurts. He also wanted me to give you this." Jun placed an apple through the bars, expecting me to eat it. "I'll be seeing you, okay? Oh, and we all have paid our respects to Kizone. Just for him, why don't you do the same."

Jun left the building, leaving me the apple. I got up and shook the dust off my fur. I then looked at the apple with a strange look. Why would Samurott give me just an apple? I took a huge chuck of it in my mouth and began eating. Then something metal began hurting my mouth. I spat it out to reveal it being a jail key. I then understood why...

_~Transition~_

After leaving the jail, I went up to where Kizone's funeral took place. There, I saw Mother standing there, paying her respects.

"Good to see you again, Reona," Mother said, not even turning to face me. I walked to sit beside, facing the tombstone. "I always thought I would die first before Kizone, but now... I'm not sure anymore."

"..."

"You don't have to be so quiet, my human friend. I know it how feels to lose someone precious to you," Mother said. "Your mother. Though I've never met her personally I can tell she was kind to you."

"...She was," I said finally. "She was very kind to me...until she..."

Mother looked at me with an understanding look. "You are a full grown woman now, Reona. You should not live in the past anymore," Mother said. "Pick up what little pieces you have of your life and move forward. You should stop making your friends worry." I said nothing to this, simply turning away from her. This apparently angered Mother as she slapped me with her tail, sending me away from the grave. "Two options: You can continue to be mopy and let Cruel get away with this crime, or you can move on and hope to find away to permanently stop him."

I perked up at the options. I never considered Cruel, because I was so much on the subject of Kizone. "Tell me, what would Kizone tell me?" I asked.

"Well. He'd tell you to stop being so moody all the time and be the usual 'happy-go-lucky' Reona everyone knows and loves. He'd tell you also that not matter what, he would always be there to support you," Mother said. "So what are you going to do now?"

I thought about for a moment and smiled at Mother. "I'm going to Explore," I said.

"Good. But I have a prediction for you: 'A hero whose fire shines brightly will find black lightning within the dark clouds.' Understand?" Mother asked.

I nodded and ran, ready to Explore once more. Now with that prediction in hand.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	15. Chapter 15

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 15 - Team Mischief's Mischief Making

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Cruel's POV~_

Disppointment ran through my mind as the minions I sent to the North bowed before me, awaiting either punishment or forgiveness.

"Sir...we apologize for our failure... We just didn't expect the North Federation's Master to be so powerful," Maria said.

"I suppose that part is my fault. I should have been more clear when I said 'AVOID HIM AT ALL COSTS'," I said, looking down at her.

"Sir. Upon coming here, we heard that the FET is sending the best bounty hunters to come kill you, sir. They've even placed your head as the most valuable, over 10000000 Poke," Toxic reported.

"Hmph. Fools. They know better than to start an early blood bath before the end comes," I chuckled. "And besides, its almost time for the show to truly begin."

"Sir? Y-you don't mean...?" Maria began to asked but I glared at her. "Y-you do mean..."

"Send a message to that kitsune of a human. Tell her that I demand a rematch. The place: the field we last fought on," I commanded.

My two loyal minions nodded and made a hasty exit, leaving me to my thoughts. This time, it will be I who wins, and Reona shall drown in the very fire she spits.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

My team and I finally got done with a really tough Rank A mission. The reason why it was really tough was because the client kept fainting, using up all the Reviver Seeds we had.

"Ugh. That mission was A-NOY-YING!" Zoro complained.

"What a total fail!" Ethereal whined.

"Calm down guys. At least its over," Jun said, trying to calm everyone down.

While they were whining and stuff, I was talking to Zwe who told me a lot about what he saw while I was gone.

"...and then I met the Legendary Cresselia. She was so glorious in all her sparkly beauty," Zwe described.

"Sounds interesting," I said. "You know, Zoro is right to complain. I was going to save some of those Reviver Seeds for a special trade with Posia and Usrea."

_~Flashback~  
>~Earlier this morning~<em>

"If you bring me any left over Reviver Seeds from your mission, I'll give you this very rare Sitrus Berry," Posia offered.

"Berry eat nutriants for," Usrea said in her still choppy English.

"So do we have a deal?" Posia asked.

"...No," I said.

"..." Posia went silent from my answer. "BRING ME THOSE DAMN REVIVER SEEDS OR YOU'LL HAVE MORE PROBLEMS THAN JUST CRUEL!" she shouted forcefully.

I quickly nodded and ran in fear away from her.

"A pleasure it is to do business with you," Posia said happily.

_~Flashback End~_

Now I'm really scared to even face her. She was really serious about wanting those Reviver Seeds, and now they're all gone.

We entered town, and when we did, Posia jumped in front of me.

"So? Do you have any Reviver Seeds left? Do you?" she asked.

I scratched my head and forced a laugh. "Um... Funny story, Posia... We unfortunately used all of our Reviver Seeds and well..." I said nervously.

". . . . . . . . . . . . ."

Without warning, I was picked up by my hind legs and forcefully mugged. Our leftover Oran Berries dropped out of the bag and landed on the ground. Posia then dropped me and picked up all of the Oran Berries.

"Hey!" I shouted.

Posia placed the Sitrus Berry on the ground near me. "These Oran Berries will more than pay for that Sitrus Berry. Please doing business with you," she said before making off with our items.

"Wait. What?" I asked, confused on what just happened.

_~Transition~_

After the unmentionable happened, my team decided to leave for home while I went to the cliff to get in some fresh air. When I got there, I saw Team Mischief harassing a Pelipper who gave out ranking to those who were ready to upgrade to a rank.

"What do you mean we're not worthy of a Silver Rank!" Mischief shouted at the Pelipper, pulling on him with her...hair.

"I keep telling you ma'am, your records show that your Rank Points are 0. You have been sherking your duties...more or less," the Pelipper said.

"That's not fair! We have too done work!" Kala shouted.

"Sorry. But it doesn't show. And according to this, you've also bad-mouthed the client, swearing at them, forced them to give you a better reward than they originally gave out, and went as far as knocking out some clients and stole their cash," the Pelipper said. "We watch what Exploration Teams do during and after missions."

"Grrr! This isn't right! We saved their asses! They should worship us for our hard work, not say we're the bad guys!" Mischief shouted.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" I shouted at them.

The duo turned to me and glared. "Oh look. Its that fox whose team beated us earlier," Mischief pointed out.

"Looks like she's all by herself now. Should we rough her up?" Kala asked.

"...Yo, Kala," I said, recieving a sudden gasp from her.

"How... How do you know my name?" Kala asked.

"Do you really not recognize me? Or are you pretending not to?" I asked.

She looked at me for a little while before placing a hand on her chin.

"Allow me to remind you," I offered. "5 years ago, a team composed of a Vulpix, a Riolu, and a Glaceon, visited a Mismagius and his daughter, a Ralts. This same Ralts being you, Kala. And the Vulpix..."

"R...Reona?" Kala asked.

"You got it," I said, smiling.

The Misdreavus looked at me, then her partner, then me again, and then her partner again. "Wait a moment! You mean to tell me she was once your FRIEND!" Mischief shouted. "DISGUSTING!"

"You're the one to talk, Mischief. At least she wasn't being physical with harassing Pokemon," I said.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Mischief shouted furiously.

"Kala. Why are you acting so mean towards others all of a sudden? What happened to the just as 'happy-go-lucky' Pokemon I remember five years ago?" I asked.

"...She died along with her dad. The old Kala is gone. All that remains is a grudged filled Kala," she said.

"Grudge against your own mom?" I asked. "A little overboard, don't you think?"

"..."

"Mind your business, fox lady! If she wants to hold a grudge, then let her. Makes me feel better at least," Mischief said.

"...sigh... My, you are quite spoiled aren't you?" I asked before walking off. I stopped and turned to Kala. "I'm very disappointed in you, Reona. Truly I am. And I would bet Duro is too."

_~Transition~_

After leaving my home in the middle of the night, I decided to pay Sala another visit. When I got to her hut, I saw her making stew with... wow, she must be very poor to have to use _THAT_ to make stew. I knocked on her door, alerting her of my presense.

"Reona!" Sala shouted, surprised by me being there.

"Hey, Sala," I said. "What's...that?"

"Oh this?" Sala pointed. "This is supper. Mine at least... Kala does eat here much as you can imagine... She hands out in a tree house with Mischief now, no longer seeing me," Sala said, mixing the bowl more.

The stew looked horrible. Despite how good looking she looked, Sala really was terrible. Out of sheer sadness toward her, I gave the Kirlia an apple.

"For me?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes. A mother like you should not be eating that stuff; its unhealthy," I stated.

"...I'm sorry, Reona. Things have been really hard on me lately. Kala won't share any of her money reward with me, telling me to get money myself... But then again, I WAS fired from my job," Sala explained. "Reona. Do things like these happen to your race?"

"Obviously," I said. "But I can tell what pain Kala is in. Trust me, I definitely know."

_~Kala's POV~_

I stood out of view in order to eavesdrop on mom and Reona's conversation. I hope they don't see me.

_~Reona's POV~_

"I'll tell you how I know," I said. "Like most species, if not all of them, I had a mom and a dad. I only knew my dad up until I was 3, but I know for sure he died. How, I couldn't tell you. But my mother... I knew her better than anyone did. She was like a prime example of a woman with happy joys and great dreams come true. When I had a bad day, her smile always brought my spirits up. I loved her so much, I never wanted her to leave."

"...What happened?" Sala asked.

"..." I was silent for a moment before tears raced down my face. "...on my 8th birthday. That very day, after I had such a horrible day, I ran back home as soon as I could. When I got there, i noticed something different; my mom wasn't outside waiting for me like she was normally. When I saw this, I thought it must've been nothing... but when I opened the door...I saw her...dead..." Sala gasped greatly at that, looking down in sorrow. "Because I was still so young, I only thought she was sleeping, but I had learned otherwise. My mother's head was blown apart, blood splattered on the walls and ceiling. The very sight of it..."

Before I could finish my sentence, my stomach began to twirl rapidly. Then suddenly, I began to puke. The thought of that very day had made me sick everywhere in my body. I truly was saddened by this.

"Reona!" Sala screamed.

She used her Psychic powers to help heal my sickly stomach, helping me feel better.

"Reona, I am so sorry. I think my asking you to tell these things caused that terrible accident to happen," Sala said, worrying for me.

"...cough...No need to be sorry...cough..." I said, holding in another puke. "I should continue my tale. Sometime later, I met up with Zoro, my Zoroark,and soon caught him. And after he understood my plight, he did everything he could to help me get over losing my mother. It did help a little, but not better by much I had to say."

"But you seem over it now. If Zoro didn't help, then what did?" Sala asked.

"...Jun," I replied. "I don't know why, but when I first met him, I felt as if I had known him for a long time. It was the main reason why I originally became an Explorer with him, not just to get home. And soon enough, I managed to cope my loss of mother. My friends helped me get over my loss, helped me find a way to certain happiness once again, making me the Reona I am today. I owe them a lot for that. I definitely owe them my power in destroying Cruel and anyone else who dares threaten this world. I'll do everything I can...for them."

"Reona..." Sala said softly.

_~Kala's POV~_

"...sniff..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	16. Chapter 16

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 16 - Finishing the Job: Sala VS Toxic

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Toxic's POV~_

It was early in the morning and Maria and I still needed to deliver that message. As we raced by, I took a glimpse of a Kirlia and a Misdreavus walking casually in the woods.

"Heh. Maria," I called.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"I have spotted some easy prey; I'll join up with you later," I said.

"Very well. But while you're killing, I'll be delivering. So lame," Maria complained.

"Don't worry," I said. "I'll bring back the Misdreavus and you can torture it as long as you dang well feel."

"Yay! Now I feel better!" Maria giggled.

I quickly ran where I saw those twerpish Pokemon. Easy prey equals a better moody Cruel. Hooray for easy math.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

The morning air filled my snout, the breeze blowing through my fur. Even with Cruel still at large, peace sure seemed real. As I was heading out, my instincts began telling me that someone elsewas with me, though I could not tell if it was friend or foe.

"Well. Alone without your team, Reona?"

That proved that it was a foe. The most obnoxious foe if not arrogant. Sitting on a tree branch was Maria, smiling as she saw me.

"What do you want, Maria?" I asked.

"Well, as much as I want to kill you and lick every drop of blood from my claws...or hands...I am only here as a delivery girl, delivering a message from Cruel himself," Maria said, giggling brightly. "He says he wishes for a rematch with you. The place: the last place you fought him."

I glared at Maria, recieving a confused look from her. "Give him my glare and tell him I'll be there," I said, not wanting to waste any time in destroying that undersized kraken.

"Very well," Maria said with a bow before disappearing into the forest.

I quickly ran back home to tell my friends where I was going to be (or otherwise lie to them). I'd rather have them stay at home than to get hurt fighting Cruel with me.

_~Transition~  
>~Kala's POV~<em>

Mischief and I were just taking a simple walk in the forest. I was mostly silent for most of the walk, because the conversation Mom and Reona had last night.

"You okay back there, Kala? You've been real quiet," Mischief asked.

I didn't respond much, just nodded that I was okay. But of nowhere, I sensed something big in power coming directly at Mischief. So I quickly pushed her out the way of an incoming attack.

"Inpressive reflexes, girl," the Pokemon that attacked us said.

The smoke he caused died down and revealed a Toxicroak who had a death glare on us.

"Hey! What's your bizz pal!" Mischief shouted angrily at him.

He didn't say anything; he simply backhanded her, sending her flying to a tree, knocking her out.

"Mischief!" I shouted.

I turned to the Toxicroak, ready for a fight.

"You have those eyes... The eyes from 5 years ago. The eyes I plan to crush along with the head!" the Toxicroak shouted angrily. "SO SAYS TOXIC!"

He slammed his fist directly at me, but I teleported away from him making him hit the ground. This guy was strong being he caused a small crater with just one punch. If I was to live, I better keep my distance.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

I found my way to where Cruel said he'd meet me, which he did.

"Reona. A pleasure it is see you again," Cruel chuckled.

"You some kind of a bastard to just issue a challenge against me," I said, my eyes glowing with sheer rage. "Especially when I've heard what you did to Kizone."

"Aww. Did I strike a nerve with just that?" Cruel asked sarcasticly. "Hmph. If that's all it took to get you riled up like this, then this kill will be the most enjoyable." Cruel raised his tentacles, ready for a fight. "Shall we begin?"

"Ladies first," I said, ready to pounce him down.

_~Transition~  
>~Jun's POV~<em>

Just moments after we were told to stay in our own business by order of Reona, me, Ethereal and, Zoro decided to just go help out. But on our way, we were stopped by a lone Maria.

"If you three think you're going to disturb Cruel when he's fighting, you are sadly mistaken," Maria said.

"Out of the way, Maria. We don't have time to mess with you," I commanded.

"Hmph. Sorry, but no means no," Maria said, crossing her arms. "But since you are here, I think I'll have a little bit of fun."

Suddenly she shot a Shadow Ball at us. We dodged the attack and prepared for a really tough fight. We could tell it was tough, because she was laughing that evil laugh of hers.

_~Transition~  
>~Kala's POV~<em>

I continued to dodge Toxic's many barrages of attacks, making sure not end up like the trees or ground, broken. But the more I used Teleport, the weaker I became.

"Hehe. What's wrong? Can't keep up the pace?" Toxic taunted arrogantly.

He jumped at me again, but this time I couldn't teleport; I was too far weakened. Without any way of escape, Toxic managed to hit. The claw slashed through my torso, narrowly missing any vital organs. But even so, blood came crashing out of the open wound.

"Next one won't miss!" Toxic guaranteed as readied the next punch.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my own death. But before the attack could even start, a Shadow Ball struck Toxic in the back. The move came from Mischief who finally concious.

"Leave her alone, you monster," Mischief said.

"Oh. Big big mistake, girl," Toxic said angrily.

He jumped from me and at Mischief. Effortlessly, he pounded Mischief, making sure that nothing was left to be hit. I wanted to help, but my telekinetic powers needed time to refill. So I could only watch in horror. Mischief had blood coming out of her rapidly as she was brutally beaten to near death.

"MISCHIEF!" I shouted as Toxic prepared for one final strike.

But the strike never came as Toxic himself was punched by... I couldn't believe it. It was Ebro. Toxic was sent flying to a log, bouncing to the back of it.

"That's what you get for messing with my daughter," Ebro said, crossing his arms.

Then, from out of nowhere, Mom appeared too. I couldn't believe it.

"Mom! What the hell are you doing here!" I shouted at her.

"Saving your lives of course," Mom said, smiling at me.

I looked at her for a moment but then turned away.

_~Sala's POV~_

"Sigh... Some things never change," I said before jumping to Ebro's side.

Toxic rose from behind the log, angered by our sudden appearance. He then shot up when noticed me.

"I know you," he said, pointing at me. "Yes. I know you exactly. You are one of Kramzak's cronies. You are also the little Psychic type that defeated me last time." Toxic smiled and laughed greatly. "I cannot believe it! My surviving victim comes to me to beg for mercy! How hilarious!"

"I don't beg to the likes of you," I said. "You killed my husband and I will not forgive you for it."

"And who says I need forgiveness. I can still taste the blood of your dead husband on my claw. Still quite the flavor," Toxic said, making me angry.

_~Kala's POV~_

_Wait...he...That monstrous toad was the one who..._

_~Sala's POV~_

"Hmph. In any case, since I know your strength now, I'll be more than happy to fight you once more," Toxic said.

"Ebro. Let me handle this guy. I have a score to settle with him anyway," I whispered to Ebro.

"Very well. And I shall tend to the kids," Ebro whispered back.

Once Ebro was out of the way, Toxic and I readied for a fight.

I made the first move. "Shadow Ball!" I shouted.

I launched my attack at the toad, but he managed to block it. But that was okay, because I anticipated that move from him. I ran at Toxic and side kicked him in the face. This was somewhat effective, despite me being less than physical.

"Poison Jab!" Toxic shouted, running at me with a purple glowing claw.

Before he got close, I used my Psychic to try and grab him. But he noticed this and quickly jumped back out of range.

"Oh no! I'm not falling for that twice!" he shouted.

_~Ebro's POV~_

While Sala and Toxic were duking it out, I tended to the kids. I gave both of them Oran Berries, which did heal their wounds some. Mischief looked at me, both confused and with anger. I could tell why on both ways.

_~Sala's POV~_

I continued my assualt of using Psychic on Toxic, hoping to catch him. He could dodge forever,and my telekinetic powers are far more superior than my daughters so I could do this with ease. After a while of Toxic dodging, I finally grabbed him with Psychic and like before, began to fling him about. But just as I was having fun, he suddenly and somehow broke out of my Psychic.

"Okay. Now I'm really mad!" Toxic shouted angrily.

"Face it...again... You've lost," I said, repeating what I said five years ago.

"And you expect me to leave?" Toxic asked. "Hah! Since that last time, I've gotten stronger. Much stronger. What you're seeing here, is only a minor strength of Toxic. NOW YOU'LL FEEL THE TRUE FEROCITY!"

His body glowed of a dark aura that I didn't find at all familiar. His body began changing color and soon shape, as if he was transforming. I got frightened by the sudden increase in power that I was feeling from him. It was nothing that I've felt before...not even from Kramzak. Once his transformation ended, he stood even bigger than me.

"Now let the battle truly begin!" Toxic shouted.

With a single of his five-clawed fist, a wave of shadow evergy came at me. I managed to dodge, but the wave destroyed everything in its path as it continued through the forest. What ever that energy was, it was dangerous.

But my worries were yet to end. Toxic was severely fast and far more powerful than he was a few moments ago. I tried using Psychic on him, but it could no longer get a hold of him.

"Those attacks no longer affect me, Sala!" Toxic shouted. "But this DOES affect you!"

Toxic ran at me with a shadowy fist and punched me with it. The attack was so powerful it left my entire body stunned.

_~Ebro's POV~_

"Sala!" I shouted.

I made a quick reaction with my Shadow Punch, making sure to hit him. It did, but it did nothing but get him angrier.

"You're the way," Toxic said, unamused.

He backhanded me and sent me flying to multiple trees, breaking them as I did. I got up, but became really hesitant for another attack.

"You know. Maybe I should let you two watch something awesome," Toxic said, evil in his voice. "I'll put your kids out of their misery!"

I was shocked by this. Toxic began to charge shadow into his mouth, a huge concentration of it that grew in power. He the shot the blast at the helpless kids...but...

_~Kala's POV~_

Mischief and I closed our eyes as the attack closed in. But for some reason, it didn't hit. Then...we saw why. Ebro jumped in front of us to block the attack. Blood dripped down all over his front side, pain obviously flowing through him.

"DADDY!" Mischief shouted, bursting into tears. "Why? Why did you do that!"

"...Because... Because, its what...mom would've...wanted..." Ebro said, barely audiable. "...She would've...wanted me...to...protect you...with my life... I...still...love...you...and I...will...alway...protect...you..."

Mischief began to cry harder from hearing this. "Daddy! I'm so sorry! I've been such an idiot! I let you down! I let mom down! Please! Stay alive! I don't want you to go too!" she cried as loud as she could.

"Hmph. What a crybaby," Toxic said, very unamused by what he was forced to view. "Oh well. I guess I'll get back to the real prize worth killing!"

I knew what he meant. I got up quickly, but as I did, Toxic jumped directly at Mom, claws ready to finish her off.

"NO! MOM!" I shouted loudly, trying to catch up to her.

But I was not as fast as Toxic. He closed in on Mom; there was nothing I could do! Someone please help!

Then...I heard pulses. Strange pulses.

_Your plight is heard. Your ideals are recognized. You, Kala, are worthy of my power._

Then suddenly, lightning struck Toxic away from Mom. From out of the skies, a giant black dragon came swooping down and landed on the ground near us, roaring loudly.

"Who...are you?" I asked the dragon.

"I am Zekrom, Lord of Thunder and one of two creators who made these lands," the dragon said, voice proving to be male. "I am here to assist you in anyway I can."

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	17. Chapter 17

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 17 - Posia's Battle

* * *

><p><em>~Kala's POV~<em>

Zekrom stood before us, tall and scary, but eager to help us in our most desperate time of need. Especially against this monstrous toad.

"So you're the other Legendary Pokemon and the counterpart to Reshiram," Toxic said, impressed by the black dragon's giant figure. "As much as I would like to go toe to toe with you, only my master's strength is comparable to a Legendary Pokemon's, so I'm going to call it quits."

"What!" I shouted, angered by what he said.

"You heard me girly," Toxic said turning away. "I know when I'm outmatched, and this is no exception. But don't think I've lost. Next time we meet, you'll join your dad in the grave!"

Just as Toxic was about to jump away, a white dragon came flying down, landing in his way.

"Reshiram..." Zekrom said to the white dragon.

"Zekrom..." the white dragon said.

"Zekrom! Can I ask you to shock Toxic for me?" I asked adorably.

"HEY! NO FAIR! I can't get away!" Toxic shouted angrily.

Zekrom nodded and used a power Thunder attack on Toxic electricuting him into a crisp.

"OWOWOWOWOW!" Toxic shouted in pain.

"Fusion Flare!" Reshiram shouted.

A giant ball fire formed above her head, burning with intense energy. Once the energy was full, the attack was launched at Toxic.

"Oh...crap..." Toxic said.

The attack caused a small explosion which sent Toxic, who became a normal Toxicroak, flying. With him gone, me and my friends let out a sigh of relief. I ran to mother, who was still very injured from her fight.

"Mom! Are you okay?" I asked, tears coming from my eyes.

Her eyes opened to me and she smiled, happy to see me. "Kala. My sweet sweet Kala," Mom said softly.

"Mom."

"Kala. You remind me so much of your father. If he were standing here with us, he'd tell you how proud he was for your victory," Mom said modestly.

"I doubt it," I said, looking down. "I let him down. I have nothing but hurt others just for cash and money and blamed you for his death. I hurt you Mom. And I'm sorry. I...I just don't want to lose you like I did him..."

Tear ran down my face as they fell on to Mom. She wiped away my tears and pulled me into a heartfelt hug. "I love you, Kala."

"...I love you too...Momma," I said, overjoyed to hear that.

_~Reshiram's POV~_

As Zekrom and I looked at this heartful reunion, I said to him, "Perhaps it is time we left."

"Yes. We have much to discuss now that I am free," Zekrom said. "This reunion of there...makes me feel...guilty..."

"...As do I..." I said softly.

We flew into the air and disappeared into the clouds, awaiting the call of our masters, when ever they needed us.

_~Transition~  
>~Jun's POV~<em>

Maria, the team, and I stood in awe as we saw, not just Reshiram, but Zekrom fly away into the sky.

"Hm. Who'd thought that brat of Sala's was the Hero of Ideals?" Maria asked, though I could tell she didn't care for an answer. "Now... Since Toxic failed in his mission, it seems I'll be having more fun after I deal with you. OOOH! I JUST CAN'T WAIT!"

"I'm sure you can," I said getting back into battle position.

"Nope. Cannot," Maria said. "So I'll just finish you off swiftly. No fun, but well worth it."

With a snap of her fingers, shadowy tentacles suddenly appeared from beneath us and grabbed us, rendering us helpless.

"What! What is this!" I shouted.

"Its called Shadow Hold, and it gets the name for a reason," Maria stated. "Now to kill you."

Maria transformed into her Shadow Pokemon state, her claws ready to slice us to bits. But as soon as one step was taken, she was attacked by...the least expected Pokemon ever. Posia.

"Hey! Who are you?" Maria asked, annoyed.

_~Posia's POV~_

I opened a fan and covered my face with it. "I am but a traveling merchant and town seller. Call me Posia Uyatya," I introduced formally.

"Hmmm? You look familiar... Have we met somewhere?" Maria asked, looking at me strangely.

"Maybe we have...maybe we have not, but I do hold quite a grudge against you and your comrades," I admitted.

"Oh yeah...I remember you now. You're that brat who-"

Before she could finish her sentence, I swiftly appeared behind her, my sword drawn. Blood suddenly squirted out of Maria's arm.

"GIAH! What...What the hell!" she screamed.

"If you were going to say 'that brat who lived in that village' then allow me to correct you. I am that brat who grew up and prepared when you three ever appeared," I said. pointing my blade at her head.

"Hm? Those markings... Isn't that the so called Blade of Death?"

"Rozen van de Dood is her name, which roughly translates to 'Roses of Death'," I said. "And like your Shadow Hold, it gets the name for a very good reason."

"I've heard of this blade, but never got a chance to actually locate it because it was already gone," Maria said, sounding angered about my possesion of it.

"That's because my family picked it up generations ago and has been passed down for that amount of time," I explained. "Rozen here is a very interesting sword that feeds off of anger and channels it into power, making the wielder stronger depending on his or her anger. The sword chose me most because of my anger towards you and Team Cruel. And now, you'll see why its a mistake to anger a Mienshao...like me."

I slowly brought the sword above my head and quickly slashed the air, causing an endless storm of petals to rush at Maria. These petals proved dangerous as whatever they touched got slashed into oblivion.

"Is that even legal to have!" Maria shouted.

"Does it matter to you?" I asked, unemotional at the moment.

I slashed the air once more, causing more petals to fly at Maria. She dodged every attack, but she knew she couldn't dodge forever. Quickly realizing that I was destorying the forest with my attack, I decided to change my strategy. I saw Maria reappear in midair. I jumped at her, ready to slash at her.

"Oh no you don't! You got me one time with that, but not again!" Maria shouted as she readied her claws to block.

I soon became a sword versus claws duel. Swiftly we kept colliding, never stopping, never giving an inch. Despite she being the second-in-command, she was in true reality only as strong as I was. Everytime she tried calling out a move, I foiled her attampt by striking at her. After several more clangs, we separated from each other, tired.

"Damn it. How can a girl like you be so strong?" Maria asked.

"I've been asking myself that since I last saw Cruel all those years back. But now I've come up with an answer," I said.

I ran at Maria and stabbed my sword in to the ground beside so I could perform the Ancient Art of Kicking technique. After kicking her into the air, I retracted my sword and barrage slash the Banette slash marks appearing all over her body. I gave Maria one final kick, causing her to collapse to the ground hard. Once I landed, I put away my sword, knowing the battle was over (as evidented with Maria's Shadow Hold no longer in effect).

"Whoa..." I heard Zoro say.

"Posia. That was amazing," Jun said.

"Thank you. I was just picking up some restock items until I saw that Banette and decided to join in on the fun," I giggled.

They were surprised to see how fast my personality changed. One moment I'm somewhat heartless and the next, I'm me again. But as we were chatting, Maria suddenly rose up, cut up and bruised badly. She also seemsto have reverted back to her normal Banette form.

"I must be losing my edge," Maria said. "First Team Element, then that blasts Zoroark over there, then that master of the North, and now you...? This might require further research. But in the meantime, we'll meet again."

Maria disappeared into the shadows. Jun and his team growled at this display and turned to me.

"Posia. As much as we would love to chat, we've got to go," Jun said.

"Yeah. Reona needs us," Ethereal explained.

"No. She does not. She will be fine," I said assuringly. "A particular customer of mine came and bought an Oran Berry and ran in the direction Reona did. Who ever he was, he was in quite the hurry."

The trio looked at with strange 'Are you serious' looks, but I just ignored them.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

Cruel fought each other in a fierce cat 'n mouse chase as his tentacles were being lashed out at me. I made one faithful leap toward Cruel in attempt to slash him with my claws...

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	18. Chapter 18

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 18 - Cruel's Ultimate Power Revealed

* * *

><p><em>~Reona's POV~<em>

...but my attempt failed, but I at least jumped off of Cruel's head, making him hit himself with his own tentacles. After making a soft landing, I turned to Cruel used Flamethrower while he was recovering. However, my attack only did so little damage.

"...Hmm. It seems my comrades have been defeated by your friends, new AND old," Cruel suddenly said.

"Hmph. Yeah. That's why you don't screw with them; they play hard ball," I stated, grinning.

"A little early for a celebration, don't you think?" Cruel asked.

He lashed out his tentacles at me, missing as his movements at this point became incredibly predictable.

"You ought to try some new tricks, Cruel," I taunted. "These silly tentacle routines are never going to work at this point."

"Cocky, aren't we?" Cruel chuckled. "Very well. I believe it is time for a new trick."

He shot his Hydro Pump at me, which of course I dodged. But there was a twist to this attack. IT ANGLED ITSELF BACK AT ME AND HIT ME FROM BEHIND!

"What the...?" I took some major damage from that move.

"Like the new improvement in my attack? My new 'Homing' Hydro Pump is especially made to attack you and if necessary, others with you," Cruel explained.

"...Lovely," I commented, returning to a serious composure.

All I had to be greatful for was there being a limit to how many times he can use Hydro Pump. But as I was thinking that, he used something I'd least expect from a guy like him. He dug into the ground and, from the sounds I was hearing, moving around me. I didn't think Tentacruel could learn Dig. This was not good. And it showed how 'not good' the situation was as I was ambushed by Poison Jab from underground. I jumped into the air to dodge the ambush, but the attack got to me, slashing my left hind leg, but not deep by any means.

Cruel rose from the ground and, despite not having a mouth, grinned. "Did that keep things interesting for you?" Cruel asked as if mocking me.

"In one way or another," I said. "But even so, you'll be done for soon."

"Well. As much as I would love to continue this fight, I do have other things to do so..."

Cruel somehow shot a Hydro Pump from above me as a harsh current of water pounded me. Then from underground, I was stabbed through the torso by a Poison Jab (besides bleeding being a problem, the Poison was not). I cough out blood as blood rushed from my opened wound. Cruel rushed to me and wasted no time in striking at me. At that moment, I thought my time was up.

But out from nowhere, a mysterious Pokemon bashed Cruel from behind, knocking him down and away from me. The Pokemon landed beside me and handed me an Oran Berry.

"Get your strength back and hurry," he said forcefully.

My mind said burn the jerkish hero for just saying that rudely, but my instinct said otherwise. Once my wounds were gone, I got up and growled loudly at Cruel who was just getting up himself.

"A newcomer? My, things just continue to amuse me," Cruel chuckled.

"You are Cruel, right?" the mysterious Pokemon, a Scizor, asked pointing a claw at Cruel.

"My reputation preceeds me. But that does not matter," Cruel said. "For what business do you have for coming here?"

"To kill you for killing my sworn rival, Kizone," the Scizor said, glaring.

"...Hmhmhmhm. HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Cruel laughed. "I admire your bravery, but I do question your intelligence."

"How's this for intelligence!" the Scizor shouted.

He jumped at Cruel and kicked him, pushing him back. But Cruel still stood.

"...Who are you, boy?" Cruel asked, no longer laughing.

"My name is Bullet, a name that shall follow you once I put you in the ground!" the Scizor shouted once again launching another attack.

The two went into hand-to-hand combat which was unfortunately short lived due to Cruel having more...hands...to fight with. I took the time to attack from far away, angering Cruel about having a two-on-one fight.

"Things are starting to look grim for you, Cruel," I stated, smiling about the upperhand.

"Hmmm. You have a point, Reona," Cruel said, agreeing with me? "So I think its time to step up my A-game."

He brought out a strange blue crystal that glowed with some sort of strange energy.

"What is that?" Bullet asked.

"This is my trumcard into becoming the ultimate god of this and the other world. It is called the Water Shard," Cruel explained. "This shard, along with 4 others, was created long ago by Arceus to insure balance was stored in this world. To protect these valuable items, 5 sages were created and placed in 5 separate location: North, South, East, West, and the center of all those directions. It is foretold that a lone hero will arise with a heart of justice and a will of fire to obtain these mystical items and restore peace and balance to the world. Of course, I did not want that to happen, so I've dedicated my career as a killer to find and destroy the hero before he or she is born. And if he or she is already born, I will simply kill him or her. Right now I'm hopeful Kizone was the hero and thus the sages nor the shards have any real purpose other to be used for my vision of a new era: an era of darkness and despair."

"That really doesn't sound good," I stated.

"Hmhmhm. It is time for you meddlesome fools to bow down to your new master and beg for mercy," Cruel said as his body began glowing the same color as the Shard.

The green bulges in his head glowed blue as his tentacles turned into clear water. I honestly could not tell if this was his Shadow Forme or not, but one thing's for sure; I better stop slouching.

Cruel lashed his tentacles at us, grabbing Bullet and tackling me. Before I could get up, Bullet was thrown at me. Once we were organized, we launched our attack.

"Bullet Punch!" the Scizor shouted.

His punches went through the tentacles, dealing absolutely no damage.

"No fair..." Bullet complained before getting smacked backwards.

I jumped from behind Cruel and prepared a Blast Burn. But before I could even use the attack, the watery jellyfish grabbed and threw me down hard. Cruel then used his own attack. By turning his tentacles into small droplets, he caused a harsh rain that slashed everything in the area. Luckily, they were only minor cuts, but even that was painful. After the rain stopped, me and Bullet were covered in scratches, some of those scratches began to bleed.

"Damn. This guy is really upped the difficulty," I stated, growling harshly.

"Got any plans?" Bullet asked.

I did have something, but it was a bit risky. I whispered it into his...not ear...and he nodded in understandment.

"Are you done chatting yet?" Cruel asked impatiently. "Maybe I should just finish you where you stand. This battle is truly becoming boring."

Bullet used an X-Scissor on Cruel's face, catching his attention.

"If this is boring then let's make it interesting," Bullet taunted.

Cruel seemed angered by the sudden attack and began to lash his tentacles at the Scizor. While Bullet had him distracted, I prepared for Blast Burn. I just needed to concentrate.

As I was concentrating, Bullet continued his distraction, dodging Cruel's attacks as well as attacking Cruel.

"Now this becoming quite annoying," Cruel said, no longer amused. "Time to finish this."

Cruel then caught Bullet by his leg. As the Scizor was trying to escape, other tentacles began wrapping around him until he was caught in a bubble of water. Cruel was attempting to drown Bullet.

"Don't think I am oblivious of your plan, boy..." Cruel started as he turned to me, "...because I know you too well, Reona."

My concentration was broken when Cruel caught me in the same trap as Bullet, also trying to drown me. I really could not breath; my lungs were getting filled to the brim with water.

"Now comes my favorite part of the job," Cruel said, grinning. "The death of one prized prey."

I felt my power dwidle away, along with my life. Like most Ninetales, I could not survive long in water, a weakness most known. If I didn't think of something fast... Before I knew it, the power from before, the power that enabled me to defeat Cruel before, came back. My eyes glowed of intense heat and enabled me to dry away the watery trap, to Cruel's shock.

"What!" Cruel shouted.

I growled loudly at the slimy jellyfish. With only a single roar, Bullet was released from his water-based prison. Like before, ran at Cruel, only he also did the same. Our attacks collided, both of our strengths being at exact equal. Once Bullet was back on his feet, he rejoined the fight.

"Bullet Punch!" he shouted.

He striked at Cruel's blind spot, weakening him for me to knock him down. Bullet got out of the way, knowing what was coming.

"Blast...BURN!" I shouted.

And like before, the power was so intense it destroyed anything that wasn't destroyed by Cruel. Speaking of, all I heard from his was a simple shout as his body became sushi for China. Once the power was gone again, I let out a roar in victory.

"Whoa. What kind of vitamins do you take, lady?" Bullet asked, obviously impressed.

I simply turned away from him, thinking he was fit for an answer. But our celebration was only short lived as Cruel rose from the ashes. Of course he was back in his normal, severely burnt form, but he was also smiling.

"Why won't you just die, Cruel! You know its useless," I roared at the stubborn fish.

"Hehehehe. You say that now, but don't think it ends here. You still have not been shown the true essence of my power. Today you have won, but the next time we meet, I'll use EVERYTHING to destroy you, Reona," Cruel chuckled faintly.

Cruel was about to leave when... "Oh no you don't!" Bullet shouted, running at him.

But his attack was interupted by a sneak attack from a Shadow Golurk. Bullet was left stunned from the attack, but still able to move. I wanted to attack, but I was still weakened by my attack. Golurk picked up Cruel and shot off like a rocket into a portal made entirely by shadows.

"I'll be coming for you, Cruel..." I said softly.

_~Transition~_

After our fight with Cruel, Bullet and I returned to town explaining what happened.

"So Cruel used a strange crystal to nearly beat you guys?" Jun asked, trying to understand.

"Yeah. He called it a Water Shard," I said. "Does anyone know what a Water Shard is?"

Ebro walked up ready to answer. "I do. The Water Shard is one of 5 Shards that has essence of Arceus. Each Shard has its own element: Fire, Water, Forest, Dark, and Light; and each is guarded very carefully by a sage created by Arceus. The identities of said sages are unfortunately unknown, but it said that they will only show themselves to the chosen one," he explained.

"Cruel assumed that Kizone was the chosen one. If its true, we're all doomed," I said.

"Pfft. I shouldn't worry. If Cruel were to actually show his face, I can take him no problem," Bullet cockily said.

"But he also said he wasn't using his full power which means if YOU were to fight him, he'd kill you no problem once in full power," I stated, making Bullet lose his cockiness. "And both you and I were having a hard time fighting Cruel when he had the Shard powering him up."

"I honestly doubt Kizone WAS the chosen one to begin with. If he was, he would have taken those Shards and used them to defeat Cruel once and for all," Zoro stated.

"If Kizone wasn't the chosen one, then who is?" Sala asked.

We all gave a huge "Hmmm" before we all heard our stomachs growl.

"...How embarrassing," Ethereal laughed.

"Maybe we should eat before continue this discussion," Kala said with giggles.

Everyone, excluding Bullet, laughed. We headed off to the cafe to eat, leaving Bullet, who apparently wasn't hungry, behind.

We all put the discussion over the chosen one aside until morning where we would invite Samurott to help in our investigation. Until then, FEAST TIME!

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	19. Chapter 19

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 19 - A Forestry Beginning

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

I was asleep. Yes, very asleep. The kind of asleep that says "I hope the sun doesn't rise". But my sleep was unfortunately short lived as something did wake me up.

"Ugh...five more minutes, Jun..." I grumbled. I was still being shaken by something which eventually woke me up. "Ugh...what...?" I noticed that what woke me up was not Jun at all, but that spirit orb that has been appearing lately. "You again?"

It circled around me as if trying to make it had my attention. _Follow me..._ It left the house, tempting me to follow it. I jumped to the bottom floor and leaped to follow it outside. It was persistant in wanting me to follow it, which of course I did not disappoint.

_~Transition~_

Where ever this orb was taking me, it was somewhere in Yucor Forest. After running swiftly after the orb, I was led to a giant tree which I have never seen before in my first visit.

"Quite amazing, is it not?" a voice asked, startling me.

I quickly turned to see it was only Mother Nature. "Mother! What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Oh simply taking a midnight stroll. And I can tell you were led here, yes?" Mother stated.

"Yes. But if you know that then..." I began to ask but was interrupted by a hush from Mother's vine.

"I will explain everything once we are in the 'secret place'," Mother said as she slithered ahead of me, into the tree.

I relunctantly followed Mother, curious on what she wants to explain to me. That is until I fell into a hole. Mother waited patiently for me at the bottom of the hole.

"Welcome to the Hollow Tree. This is home to numerous Pokemon, some of which are very territorial," Mother said happily.

I grunted at this, but Mother's pet between the ears made me feel better (Damn Pokemon instincts). The place was very lively, despite it being so early in the morning. And I do mean early. Mother helped out a little, however, she was very relunctant in battling. It was in her nature, I could tell. We soon stumbled upon a geyser that was quite small.

"Well. Come now," Mother said.

She jumped onto the geyser which sprang her up a hole above. I, again, was relunctant about following, but I did need answers so... KALABONGA!

_~Transition~_

Out of the hole, I found myself in a wonderful garden full of beautiful flowers and trees. And in the far end was a spring with a green shining crystal floating above it.

"What is this?" I asked.

"This is my 'secret place'. A place that my family alone has known about," Mother explained. "In the outside world I go by the name of Mother Nature by all but my true family. Here, my name is Hira Juvanich, the Sage of the Forest."

"A SAGE!" I shouted, now really awake. "Then that crystal is..."

"Yes. The Forest Shard, which has the same qualities of the Water Shard, but not under the hands of evil," Hira explained. "I wish I could explain a bit more, but you must go under a test. Keldeo! Where are you, boy!"

Suddenly, Mother was ambushed by a Horse Pokemon, making her land face first into the ground.

"Hi, Mother! Welcome back!" the strange kiddy Pokemon shouted, jumping on Hira.

"...ow. Um, child. By the wish of your mentor, may I ask you to get off my back. Your hooves are really beginning to hurt," Hira said softly.

"Oh! Sorry Mother!" the Pokemon shouted, getting off Hira.

The Serperior restored her composure and turned to the Pokemon. "Okay. Reona, this is my Shard Protector, Keldeo. He is a young and energectic Pokemon is always ready to pounce on me...as you just view..." Hira introduced.

"Hiya! Are you the chosen one?" Keldeo asked.

"...Chosen one?" I asked, looking around, trying to make sure he was actually talking about me.

"We'll see if she is," Hira assured. "Now. Reona. Your objective is to face Keldeo in a one-on-one fight. I warn you though, despite his childish behavior, he is a very accomplished fighter."

"Um... If it means I get answers, sure I'll fight him," I said, still confused.

"Yay! New play mate! Okay! Here I come! One! Two! Three! Go!" Keldeo shouted.

"Flamethrower!" I shouted, starting the fight.

Keldeo was swift to dodge my attack and made no delay in racing toward me.

"Sacred Sword!"

The horn on the Horse-like Pokemon's head glowed with energy, emphasizing a strong attack. I was hit by the attack because of this Pokemon's energetic speed.

"Quick Attack!" I shouted.

I ran toward Keldeo, giving him a tackle to the side, but it felt more like a Lick attack to him...yeah, that pathetic. He brushed me off and used another attack.

"Scald!"

I was hit by really hot water which hurt a lot. Luckily, Fire Types like me could not get burned by the attack, otherwise this could get tougher. For a kid, the Pokemon proved to be a star battler.

"Flamethrower!"

Once again, Keldeo sprinted away from my attack and toward me with a Sacred Sword, slashing at me. I fell to the ground, really bruised from just a few hits.

"Oh no! Come on! Don't give up! I really want to have more fun!" Keldeo shouted words of encouragement.

I struggled to get up, but I was seriously weakened by his multitudes of attacks. I decided to change my tactic. I smiled with confidence at my plan.

"Confuse Ray!" I shouted loudly.

My flash of light managed to hit Keldeo, confusing him.

"Ugh... Nice shot..." he managed to say, dazed.

I ran into for close range and once I was close enough...

"Flamethrower!" I shouted.

My attack hit the small pony Pokemon, making him crash into a tree. For such a strong Pokemon, he was easily knocked out by a single Flamethrower. Regardless, I was declared the victor. Hira slithered toward me, giving me an applause as she did.

"Congratulations, Reona. I knew you were the one all along," she said happily.

"Okay. Can you now explain to me what I need to know?" I asked.

"Of course," Hira nodded. "The Chosen One, you, has been chosen to defeat an evil that has need of us, the Sages once more. This sort of evil is something that hasn't been seen since 8 million years ago, when humans DID exist here."

"There were humans here at one point?" I asked.

"Yes. But an unexplained accident occured and the entire race was completely wiped out, leaving no trace of them anywhere," Hira continued. "In any case, it is true we Sages were created to guard the 5 Shards from evil hands and ensure the worlds balance, hence why we are out and about a lot. However, an unfortunate event had taken place and the death of one of our fellow Sages occured. This was caused by none other than...Cruel." Hira clenched her small hand tightly, showing anger. "Cruel...he killed his own people, the Sage and many families including his own only to gain power and quench his thirst for power and bloodshed. The very news of our fellow Sage of Water dying was very alerting to all including Arceus. But at that time, the Chosen One was yet to be born so we could not bring him or her forth. So we simply hid and watched as Cruel and his team of monsters tortured and killed many innocent lives. We thought the nightmare was never ending...that is until you were born, Reona."

"Me?"

"Yes. Arceus predicted you were the Chosen One, but at the time of this, you were too young. But as you matured, we began to hope more for your success. It didn't take long for Arceus to create a test to see if you were ready to become the Chosen One," Hira explained more. "...However, you were not."

"Hold on, then why did Arceus send me back? Why not let me stay when I was a Vulpix?" I asked.

"Even though you had the power to defeat your chosen dragon, Reshiram, you were still far from ready, so Arceus took you home in order for you to mature even further. It helped, because when you returned, you found a reason to wanting to defeat Cruel...Jun."

"...no comment..."

Hira giggled. "Anyway, if it wasn't for your fateful meeting with Jun, you would have never found a reason to help us...and Cruel would rule the world...a prophecy most dreading," she shivered. "Landorus and the Kami knew you had potential of being a Chosen One, which is why they willingly helped you...and why they sent you to me. I wish I knew what happened to them. Anyway, as of late, have you noticed your latest performance against Cruel?"

"Yeah. Do you know what's been happening to me?" I asked.

"Indeed. Your body has finally accepted the role of being the Chosen One and is ready to take the responsibilty," Hira explained. "Cruel is, if I'm not mistaken, waiting for you to collect all the Shards, excluding his, and face him for a final showdown. He expects you to be at your very best when you two face off."

"Then I better not disappoint him," I said, confidently glaring.

"So then, you accept your duty?" Hira asked. I simply nodded. "Then here is the treasured Shard of the Forest. With this shard, you shall have the abilities of a Grass Type like me. Some good changes may come out of this too."

The Shard floated to me and entered my body. I could feel its power flooding inside me. It felt strangely awesome.

"What of my friends?" I asked.

"They have their own purpose in this, but for now, it has yet to be visible," Hira said. "For now, you must take this journey alone."

I nodded. This was my burden, and I shall carry it... Sorry, Jun, Ethereal, and Zoro.

_~Transition~_

_Reona... Now realizing her destiny, is assign a mission that could mean life or death. With the world's fate hanging in the balance, Reona pressed forward. She will sail to the Frigid Cold North, the unknown West, and the strange South. What dangers await our hero? And what of Jun? Can the Lucario continue on knowing that his friend is out on a dangerous mission? Stay tuned... as the adventure and story has finally truly begun._

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	20. Chapter 20

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 20 - Frigid Secrets

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

I was walking about the docks to find Lapras still sleeping soundly. I tapped her head softly to wake her up.

"...Ugh...What?" Lapras asked groggily.

"Sorry to wake you up this early in the morning, but I have an important mission for you," I said. "Will you hear me out?"

"...Yawn...I guess," Lapras said, wiping the sleep-sand from her eyes.

I explained to her the situation which was apparently an eye opener for her as she had her eyes opened wide.

"...and that's where this points to you. I need your help in getting to these islands. Can I please ask you to my transport?" I asked.

"Sure. I'm not called a 'Transport Pokemon' for nothing, am I?" Lapras giggled.

I hopped onto her back, ready to set sail. "Then off we go," I said. "To the North!"

Lapras made no hesitation in swimming towards the North. It was her job to carry passengers to their destination after all.

_~Transition~_

I bidded farewell to Lapras before being greeted by Miss Lass.

"Welcome to the North..." Miss Lass stopped as she recognized me. "REONA! What brings you here?"

"I'm here in search of the Sage who lives here," I said.

"Sage?" Miss Lass asked, scratching her chin. "I have heard the legends, though nobody knows who the Sage is and nobody knows where he or she could be."

I then remember finding those writings in the Crystal Palace. Maybe... "I know where he or she could be," I said.

"Well. If you do, then good luck," Miss Lass said.

I nodded and made my way to the Crystal Palace.

_~Transition~  
>~Soara's POV~<em>

"ACHOO!"

I sniffled as a drop of snot hung from my nose.

"Bless you," Crystal said.

"Shut up! Why are we in here in the middle of the freakin' cold any...any...ACHOO!" I sneezed.

"Beca-uh-use my bitter-sweet Kirlia friend, a very reliable source of mine told me Reona is due to come around here any second, and I thought we could ambush her," Crystal explained.

"Why would she even come here?" I asked, sniffing up my snot.

"...ew..." Crystal said, wishing she hadn't seen that. "Um...You can ask her yourself."

She pointed at the very Fox we were just talking about...to my shock. I turned to Crystal and asked for the plan.

_~Reona's POV~_

The aurora looked amazing, even at night. I gazed at it as I walked about the long road up to my destination. But as I did, I heard a really loud sneeze in the distance. I thought it was the local Cubchoo as they always had snot hanging off their cute little noses. Ugh...(darn it Ethereal, you are becoming a really bad influence on me).

Anyway, after the sneeze, I heard arguing. I stopped and snuck my way toward the noise.

"Darn it, Soara! Can't you control those darn sneezes of your's!" a Masquerain shouted angrily at the familiar Kirlia.

"I can't help it; I'm sick here," the Kirlia said, sniffing.

"Well, because of your sneezing, that Reona must've heard us!" the Masquerain shouted.

"Hi, girls. Mind telling ol' Reona what goes on here?" I asked, startling the the duo.

"YIKES!" the Kirlia screamed.

"ZOINKS!" the Masquerain shouted.

"Hey... Was she stalking us?" the Kirlia asked.

"Yeah, I think she was," the Masquerain replied.

The dup jumped out of their hiding place and got into battle position.

"It was a bad idea stalking the great and mighty Team Vendetta," the Kirlia said, sneezing afterwards.

"...Never heard of you," I said.

"...Don't you recognize me at all?" the Kirlia asked.

"...Nope. Not at all," I replied truthfully.

"OH! YOU RUDE, EVIL FOX LADY! I DON'T FORGET YOU BUT YOU FORGET ME!" the Kirlia shouted angrily, flailing about. "Okay fine. I'll reintroduce myself, Miss Poor Memory. I am the great Soara."

"And I'm Crystal. And We're..."

"TEAM VENDETTA!" the shouted in unison.

I simply yawned, very unimpressed by their lack of a pose and title. "So are you done? Can you leave now?" I asked politely, and very uncaring.

"Oh! You think we'll leave you alone, just like that!" Soara shouted.

"Not gonna happen. Not now, not ever. We are going to pummel you," Crystal said.

"Then we are...gonna have a slushy on your grave," Soara said, still think of what to say.

Ugh...distractions are so annoying. Anyway, if it was a fight they wanted, I was happy to oblige.

"Extrasensory!" Soara shouted.

A huge burst of Psychic energy came at me, which I dodged easily. But my attention wasn't really set on the Big/Flying Type. And I got hit in the back for it.

"Confusion!"

I was lifted up and thrown across the snow, but still took hardly any damage.

"Flamethrower!" I shouted.

"Whirlwind!" Crystal shouted.

The gust of wind cancelled my attack, which was impressive I had to admit. I was hit by an Extrasensory from Soara, which hurt.

"Okay. Now I'm getting annoyed," I said to myself.

I looked above to see a large gathering of snow. Though I didn't want to, I used Flamethrower to melt the release and cause an avalanche.

"What the..." Crystal said.

"Oh shi-"

Both Crystal and Soara were buried in snow, freezing them in a block of ice. I walked by them, waving my tails as a taunt.

"She is really going to get it when we are unfrozen," Crystal said.

_~Transition~_

Upon reaching the Palace, a strange wind of nostalgia blew through my fur. It felt cold. I entered the Crystal Palace, ready to meet the Sage. The entire place was deserted; no Snover guards, no traps, no Brute or Stretch. It was a bit creepy.

_~Transition~_

I made it to where I fought Fubuki last time. Across from me was a familiar figure. It was Master Ty!

"Ty!" I called.

"I knew you'd come here again. I always knew there was something special about you," Ty said calmly.

"Wait...you were the Sage all along?" I asked.

"Yes. If you can believe it, Samurott from the main land isn't the True Leader of the FET of that area. Hira is however," Ty said. "But since she was married to Samurott, the title became default for the guy."

"So what Sage are you?" I asked.

"I am the Sage of Fire," Ty said, smoking his pipe. "I know what you're thinking. What is a Fire Sage doing in the North? That was my ancestor's idea, not mine." Ty took another smoke to his pipe before continuing. "My ancestor, the original Sage of Fire, made that message downstairs for the Chosen One to read. When I heard this Palace was taken over, I tried everything to recover it...to no avail however. But then, Samurott called and recommended you and Team Element. And well, I'm just standing here to thank you more properly."

"Well. I was just doing my job, that's all," I said.

"Yes, but now it is time to do your job...as the Chosen One," Ty said, a serious look on him. "Terrakion! I have need for you!"

Then out of nowhere, a huge bison Pokemon lands on the field, causing a slight quake.

"Terrakion reporting for duty sir!" the bison shouted, saluting to Ty.

"Excellent response time," Ty said. "Reona, this is Terrakion, Guardian of the Fire Shard."

"Nice to meet you," I said.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir!...er, ma'am!" Terrakion shouted. "Permission to slap myself for disrespecting you, ma'am!"

"...um. Permission denied," I said, almost wanting to laugh at the suggestion.

"Yes. Anyway, like Keldeo with Hira, Terrakion is going to be your opponenet," Ty explained. "Once you've bested him, I will give you the Fire Shard, thus completing my part of the prophecy."

"Okay," I said. "Ready, Terrakion?"

"I was born ready, ma'am! But I must warn you, I led many Pokemon in war! You will see what a rock-hard spirit can do!" Terrakion shouted, scratching the ground.

With no more to say, Terrakion charged at me with his horns pointing directly at me. Luckily, he wasn't as fast as Keldeo so I dodged with ease.

"Flamethrower!" I shouted.

My attack hit him, but he just continued to charge through it. When he said "rock-hard" he wasn't kidding. He charged at me again, this time with rocks following him. I dodged his charging, but the rocks following him flung themselves at me knocking me down.

"An impressive Rock Throw if I do say so myself!" Terrakion arrogantly shouted. "Now, Sacred Sword!"

I didn't dodge his next charge at me; rather I couldn't and thus I took the full brunt of his attack. It was like a 7 ton truck hitting me while I was crossing the street. It really hurt!

"...oof..." I said, really bruised up. "This guy's one big bad bison."

I thought for a second before getting an idea. I waited for Terrakion to charge at me again, which he did accordingly.

"Flamethrower!"

I shot my stream of fire at the floor, melting the ice into a small puddle in his way. He ran directly into the water and toppled over, struggling to get up.

"Nice going, ma'am!" he complemented.

"Now, Frenzy Plant!" I shouted.

My tails became vines that stretched and grabbed Terrakion, entangling him into submission. I was shocked the sudden transformation of my tails, but I thought of it as just a minority.

"Nice work, Reona," Ty said, clapping for my victory.

My tails released Terrakion who gave a big "Oof!" after hitting the ground.

"Thank you," I said.

"Come. It is time to recieve what you deserve," Ty said, opening the ice barrier Fubuki was trying to break a while back.

Ty entered the opening, myself following him.

_~Transition~_

Inside was an incredibly warm cave that had Charizard statues spewing lava and in a hot, steamy spring on the far side of the cave was the Fire Shard.

"My ancestors devoted their lives in protecting this most sacred of treasures and now it is my time to part ways with it," Ty said. "Reona. Can I trust you to keep the aurora in the sky for as long as it may?"

"You can trust me. I promise that darkness shall not plague these lands. I will end Cruel's reign and bring peace to the entire world once more," I said deeply.

"Very well. This Shard doesn't give anything you already have, but it increases your Fire Attacks by quite a bit. I hope this proves useful when times are tough," Ty said before letting go of the Shard.

Like the Forest Shard, the Fire Shard entered my body, feeding my body more power. Already I could sense a change in my abilities. I just hope that they DO help in the future.

_~Transition~_

_Reona has collected the second Shard, which was hidden deep within the lair of Fubuki this entire time. As the leader and Sage of Fire bids farewell to the hero, he looks upon the aurora in hopes that the days become bright. As bright as the destination in which awaited Reona's arrival._

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	21. Chapter 21

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 21 - Skyscrapers, Concerts, and Crime-Lords

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

Lapras and I had just docked onto the Western territory... And boy was it a HUGE F***CKING CHANGE. I mean it too. Instead of the usual huts and small houses, there were buildings as tall or taller than the ones in Castelia City. A CITY IN THIS WORLD OF POKEMON! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN! My was on an uproar about it, but I had things to do so I put it aside.

Anyway, apparently I wasn't the one in an uproar because...

"HEEELLLP!" shouted a voice nearby.

In a city like this, it was no surprise. But I leapt into action anyway. Near an avenue, I found a young Skitty getting mugged by a couple of Murkrow.

"Come off it, girly! Nobody's gonna save ya from us," one Murkrow said.

"Wanna bet?" I called, growling at them.

The duo and the Skitty turned to my direction. The kitten Pokemon ran behind for safety.

"Help me ma'am..." the Skitty begged.

"Oh, a dumb fox is here to start a city riot," one Murkrow said.

"Let's give her a riot then," the other Murkrow said back.

"DARK PULSE!" the both shouted in unison.

The attacks became one large attack that came at me in full fury. But it was still no match for my attack, Flamethrower...which turn them into a side special dinner.

"YOW!" both Murkrow shouted in pain.

"She is too strong! Back to Big Boss!" one Murkrow led as they flew away.

The Skitty hopped for joy as she felt her breath again.

"Thank you, miss! I really appreciate your help!" the Skitty shouted happily.

"No problem. It is my job as a Explorer to anyone in need," I said, giggling.

"Oh cool! You must be an outsider Explorer huh?" the Skitty asked. "Kaddry's my name."

"I'm Reona. Nice to meet you," I said. "So why were those creeps after you?"

"I...stole tickets to the Electrical Concert from those creeps," Kaddry admitted. "PLEASE DON'T ARREST ME FOR IT, I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I JUST WANTED TO GET INSIDE TO HEAR THE BAND OF LIGHT'S CONCERT!"

"Don't worry. You aren't the only one who used to steal tickets back in the old days," I laughed.

"Really? So you'll help me get inside?" Kaddry asked.

"Yes I will," I said.

"Sweet!" Kaddry shouted excited. "Here, you can have this extra ticket."

The Skitty handed me a small paper with the words "Admit One" on it. She then walked ahead of me, leading me to the theater where the concert was taking place.

Once there, we saw that it was packed. Lots of Pokemon were there wanting to see the concert.

"So who are the 'Band of Light' anyway?" I asked.

"They are the most awesome of awesome and are well known for their lead singer. She loves to sing. Yes she does," Kaddry explained.

I understood that much. I guess they were like my world's 'Go-Rock Quad', a band of ex-villians who have no lead singer, but awesome music. I love their concerts...

Anyway, once inside the actual theater, which was like a game's theater I used to play when I was much younger.

A waitress (Lopunny) came and gave us two glasses of soda, treat from Kaddry for saving her I suppose. The lights went dim as Kaddry began shaking with a wide smile.

"It's starting..." she said softly, too excited to speak loudly.

The curtains rose to reveal a classic band, but Pokemon. There were a Raichu, an Electabuzz (the guitarist), an Ampharos (with a viola de gamba), a Primeape (drumist) and a...Virizion? With a keyboard? Hmmm...

"Hello, everybody! Welcome to our famous concert, the Band of Light concert!" the Raichu shouted into the microphone. "For those of you who don't know us, I am the band leader and lead singer, Eleca, and these are my friends! I hope you enjoy our song, dedicated to... Big Boss!"

_~2 minutes later (yeah, I couldn't think of any lyrics)~_

After the concert and the applause were over, I turned to a really excited Kaddry. I got her attention by tapping her with my paw.

"I think you and I should go have a word with the band members, don't you?" I said.

"YES!" Kaddry shouted immediately before running off to who-knows-where.

After some walking around we eventually found the band member's room. When we knocked, no reply. So I looked inside through the keyhole. Inside, I saw a Swalot with the band members.

"You still owe me rent, Eleca! Where's the dough?" the Swalot asked forcefully.

"Hmph. Like we're gonna tell some crackpot loser anything," the Raichu said, keeping her head high.

"Grr. You have a contract, remember? And besides, Big Boss says he'll only give back that thingy if you pay your rent... SO HAND OVER THE DAMN MONEY!" the Swalot shouted angrily.

"...greedy bastard," Eleca said, walking over to her couch and pulling out a huge wad of Poke.

"Pleasure doing business with you. Now if you'll excuse me, Mr. Wallot here has to shower up... Hehe, shower in dough that is," the Swalot said before turning and exiting through the door.

Me and Kaddry hid in the boxes nearby, and waited for the guy to leave. Once he was out of sight, me and Kaddry knocked on the door again. The door opened to reveal the Virizion from earlier.

"What do you want?" the Virizion asked, sounding annoyed.

"Oh nothing. I'm just looking for a...Sage..." I said, giving a hint.

The Virizion went wide-eyed and allowed us in. After closing and locking the door, Kaddry looked in awe at all the cool stuff the band members had.

"Who are these, Viri?" Eleca asked.

"Fans probably. NO FANS ALLOWED!" the Electabuzz shouted.

"Actually, I'm looking for one particular Sage of the West. Anyone around here like that?" I asked.

Eleca stepped forward a bit surprised to hear my words. "...Tell me,...do you have two shards, one green and one red?" she asked.

I brought the two shards out and showed, making her step back far in shock. "Holy! Is she...?" Virizion began asking before being cut off.

"Yes...she is..." Eleca said, restoring her posture. "And if you are the Chosen One...then it is I who you've seeking."

"Nice to meet you... I'm Reona," I said with high respect.

"Eleca. Nice to meet you," Eleca said, though gloomy about it. "I wish I could give you a proper Raichu handshake, but..."

"We are in no mood for your company!" the Electabuzz shouted.

"Yeah! So leave!" the Primeape shouted as well.

Eleca used a Thunderbolt on them, silencing them both. "SHUT UP YOU COUPLE OF DUNGBELLS!" she shouted angrily. "Booting her out is the last thing we need to do."

"Wow. Forceful," I commented.

"My apologies. Things have been less than awesome since my Shard was stolen from me," Eleca said. "If I had it now, I would let Viri fight you, she being its guardian, but that is no longer the case...sadly..."

"If its stolen, why don't you go get it?" Kaddry asked.

"Because we are honor-bound to pay our rent...for a crime we didn't even commit. That damn Big Boss framed us," Virizion said angrily.

"...Sounds like something my sister was investigating..." Kaddry suddenly said.

"Your sister?" I asked.

"Fetroa. She's the leader of the City Detective Agency here...but now she's gone missing and has been for 3 weeks..." Kaddry said, tears building up in her tears. "WHERE IS SHE! I WANT MY SISTER BACK!"

Virizion tended to the crying Skitty while me and Eleca got back to the subject. "Anyway, we can't exactly be of any help until our debt is paid...or otherwise our contract is ripped up by Wallot, the Swalot that was just here," she explained.

"So you want us to go see this Wallot guy and get him to release you?" I asked.

"That sounds like a plan. Where is the jerk?" Kaddry asked.

"Wallot is in his office across from the front counter. I really doubt he'll listento you though..." Virizion said.

"Don't worry. I know how to deal with guys like him," I said. "You'll be free in no time flat."

"Oh thank you so much, Reona," Eleca said, happy to hear that.

We nodded at the Raichu and made haste to Wallot's Office.

After a while of sniffing about we eventually made it to a Star Door. This must've been Wallot's room. I made sure by peeking through the keyhole. He seemed to have been talking to someone via monitor.

"Yeah, Big Boss. These suckers aren't goin' anywhere. Their rent is so high, it'll take 'em 15 years to pay it all," Wallot said.

"Just make sure they don't meet that Chosen One, okay? If they do, we could be in some kind of trouble. And by we, I definitely mean you," the Pokemon on the monitor said.

"Yes, sir."

Confirming the room is Wallot's I decided to bash it in...with Kaddry's help of course. Once we smashed the door in, we saw a surprised Wallot.

"Wah! Who invited you two here!" Wallot shouted angrily.

"Can it, Wallot. You are in a ton of trouble," I said, holding out my badge.

"The Band of Light told us everything, so give up," Kaddry said forcefully.

"Wait! Are you..." Wallot turned from purple to pink as he put the pieces together. "Yikers! I better scoot!"

The giant pile of stomach ran out the door making me and Kaddry make chase after him. He ran into the theater, which we followed. We soon cornered him to the stage where he was flatout tired.

"...need...to...lay...off...the...fries..." he managed to say (get it?).

"Okay, Wallot. Time to give in now," I said forcefully.

"No way! I'd rather fight you than run more!" Wallot shouted. "And that's exactly what I'll do!"

The massive purple guy jumped at us head first, using Headbutt. I dodged his attack, forcing him to hit a wall. Ouch.

"Ugh...not supposed to happen..." Wallot said.

"Double Slap!" Kaddry shouted.

She flailed her tail multiple times at the pile of stomach, making his cheeks swell. But after a final slap, Wallot opened his big gapping mouth and swallowed Kaddry.

"BURP! Delicious. Your turn now," Wallot said, getting back to battle position.

But before he could do much, Kaddry escaped from his bottomless pit, covered in drool and saliva.

"Ewww... Gross. So gross," Kaddry complained as she shook the stuff off of her.

"Your telling me... Yuck!" I commented.

"Anyway, time for payback. Attract!" Kaddry shouted.

Hearts spawned after she winked and flew to Wallot forcing his eyes to become hearts. He was infactuated, or in love.

"Flamethrower!"

I blew my famous stream of fire at the Swalot, burning him into submission. Kaddry went in for a final attack with her tail glowing (Iron Tail). Afterwards, Wallot collapsed to his side and swirls in his eyes.

"Alright. Release the Band of Light now!" Kaddry shouted angrily at the fallen Swalot.

Wallot got out the papery contract and ate it. "There. Its no longer valid, now go away," Wallot said, tears coming from his eyes.

"Hold it. Where is the Shard that rightfully belongs to Eleca?" I asked.

"I have it, my dear."

We looked around to notice a bird shadow coming into the room. Make that two actually. Both birds, a Honchkrow and a Pidgeot, landed with wide smirks on their faces.

"Well, well. If it isn't that Fox Pokemon who's friend bested me that one time a while back," the Honchkrow said.

"Uhetrus!" I shouted recognizing him.

"Ah, so you do remember me. How sweet," the Honchkrow said.

"She isn't as sweet as I am, baby," the Pidgeot said.

"You're right, my ripened apple," Uhetrus said. "Anyway, we have your precious Shard. If you want it, you have come face me...at my tower, The New Dark Tower."

"You may have bested my fluff of feathers here, but with us together, you are in a world of pain," the Pidgeot said.

"That's telling them, Queya baby," Uhetrus laughed. "I'll be waiting, Reona."

The duo of Flying types flew away, leaving us with nothing but info. The band members suddenly walked in...okay, just Virizion and Eleca.

"So that was Big Boss?" Eleca asked. "Truth be told, I never seen the guy in person. We were just drafted by his bunch of Murkrow."

"Yes. But setting that aside, we are now free," Virizion said. "We thank you, Reona, and you too, Kaddry."

"We can't celebrate yet. We have to go get that Shard away from Uhetrus," I stated.

"You're right. And we'll be happy to help," Eleca said. "It is my duty as a Sage to protect the Shard at all costs...and I failed at that role..."

"We shall redeem ourselves," Virizion said. "And besides, I want that Honchkrow to feel my hooves on his face once I plant them on him."

"And I have a feeling my big sister is at the tower so I'm coming with," Kaddry said.

I looked at everyone and smiled. "Okay. If everyone's sure about this then... Let's go fry us a Krow!" I shouted happily.

We all immediately left the theater, leaving behind an unconcious Swalot.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	22. Chapter 22

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Chapter 22 - Its Called Bird Hunting, not Bird Watching

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

Kaddry, Eleca, Virizion, and I stood in front of the giant menacing tower, home of Uhetrus, The New Dark Tower...which looked oddly like the American Twin Towers.

"Ready everyone?" I asked.

"Yes we are," Kaddry replied with confidence.

I nodded at the response and entered the automatic doors. Once inside, we saw statues of the Honchkrow and the Pidgeot themselves, spraying water out of the beaks. After a few steps in, we heard an intercom turn on.

"Welcome, twerpish traveler and friends. It is I, Big Boss Uhetrus, with a very important announcement. Far above you is the Shard and us waiting for you to come claim it. But you might be asking 'What floor?'... HARHARHARHAR!" Uhetrus laughed. "Ahem. We'll be waiting for you at the top floor. See you then."

"Oh...I'm going to show him something to laugh about once I reach that jerkish crow," Eleca said pounding her fists.

"Come on. Let's get started. I feel this one's gonna be long," I said, complaining a bit.

And I wasn't kidding either. Outside, the tower was so large, it made another big city building look like a small house. Anyway, the elevator was apparently out of order so we had to go through the long way.

The Tower was full of just the pre-evolutions of their bosses, Uhetrus and Queya, so nothing to talk about.

_~Floor 20~_

Once we made it to the upper floor of this place, we recieved another notice from Uhetrus.

"Hello again, Reona!" Uhetrus shouted, bursting our ears. "Was that loud enough?"

"Ow. My head..." Kaddry said, dazed from that sudden scream.

"Anyway, I just called to tell you that you are still a long way from reaching me! HARHARHARHAR!" the Honchkrow laughed.

With that...taunt...we continued up the stairs. The floors still had Pokemon that were pre-evolutions of their bosses, but also a tone of Camerupt and Rapidash to settle into the into mix. I could handle them (sort of), but Eleca and Virizion had a major disadvantage for both Pokemon respectfully. I would like to ask though, how is there lava here anyway?

_~Floor 30~_

If you can believe it, we were tired already...and we're not even halfway through the Tower.

The intercom came on again, but this time with no Uhetrus. "Hi, its Queya! Uhetrus had to use the little crow's nest for a moment, but he'll be back in a moment. But he just wanted to let you know that...you are only so close to us...VERY VERY VERY FAR AWAY is how close you are," Queya laughed.

Ignoring her, we continued our way through this maze of torture.

"Do those two every shut up?" Kaddry asked, annoyed of hearing the intercom.

Shaking it off, we continued. This time, we had Water Pokemon to deal with: Seaking, Quagsire, Gyarados, and Milotic. Also there was rain. Joy...

_~Floor 50~_

Guess what...another intermission.

"My, aren't we persistant. I admire your determination, Reona and co. but your journey comes to a close," Uhetrus said. "Beyond that door is a working, private elevator suitable only for those who have bested my floors so far... But..."

The intercom closes before the crow could say anymore. Kaddry turned to me with fright.

"What was he going to say?" she asked.

"Dunno, but if that elevator can take us to the top floor of this godforsaken place then, who cares?" I said, very annoyed of this place.

But when we approached the elevator, we were ambushed by a group of Durant.

"Nuts! Durant!" Eleca shouted.

"And they look hungry," Virizion stated.

The Durant launched at us with readied Metal Claws. But we managed to retaliate them.

"Flamethrower!"

My attack knocked a few of the buggers out, but quite a few of them still stood.

"Sing!" Kaddry shouted.

With her beautiful voice (and with our ears closed) the Durant went to sleep, making them easy to beat.

"Thunderbolt!" Eleca shouted.

"Leaf Blade!" Virizion shouted as well.

With both attacks as well as my Flamethrower, the Durants were easily defeated.

"Too easy," Virizion commented.

The intercom came on once more. "Hmm. Dang. I was for sure the Durant could dispose of you four... Oh well. Looks like I'll have to deal with you personally," Uhetrus said.

The intercom went off and elevator doors opened up. We entered the elevator and were taken straight up.

_~Floor 99~_

At the top of the Tower, we saw that it was quite cozy; a luxury bed, a master bedroom, and a master bathroom...quite lovely actually. Too bad it belonged to one unfortunate crow and his assistant.

"Uhetrus! Where are you!" I shouted.

Then two familiar shadows fell from the ceiling and landed in front of us.

"HARHARHAR!" Uhetrus laughed. "Welcome to our cozy cozy home. Should I direct you to heaven...OR HELL!"

"Your pathetic journey ends here, sweety. Even if you collect the Shards, you can't hope to beat Cruel," Queya said. "The guy's paying us a handsome fee just to keep the dirty Shard away from you, Fox Lady, so that's what we're doing."

"At first, this city was just a buzz-kill when we arrived to this place. It was easy to get a company as big as this running, and once the theater opened, we decided to...do business of course," Uhetrus explained.

"We have complete control over the city now. No one can stop us," Queya giggled.

"Wanna bet?" Eleca asked retoracly.

"HARHARHARHAR! If you insist," Uhetrus laughed.

The walls broke down in order to reveal that we were on the roof of the building. A machine rose from the floor as the walls collapsed. On the top of the machine laid the Light Shard.

"THE SHARD! ITS UP THERE!" Virizion stated loudly.

"The Shard has been working wonders for us. Its a shame to just let go of such a glorious thing," Uhetrus said. "So its time to put in some proper use."

"Yeah! Time to get..."

"ELECTRIFIED!"

The Shard's power ran down the veins of the machine until Uhetrus and Queya were hit by a bolt of lightning from the rods. But rather than electricuting them, their bodies undergone a very weird change. Once the energy subsided, Uhetrus glowed a golden color as his feathers shined gold in itself; Queya had silver feathers in stead of brown and tan.

"YEEEAAAH, BABY!" Uhetrus shouted. "FEEL THAT ENERGY FLY! TIME TO PUT THESE GUYS OUT OF THEIR MISERY!"

The duo quickly took to the air and beganto swiftly fly at us. With every touch, a jolt of electricity shocked us, which hurt both me and Kaddry aswe didn't have any resistance to electricity.

"Flamethrower!"

My stream of fire got blown away easily by Uhetrus.

"Harhar. Here's a real attack!" Uhetrus taunted. "DARK PULSE!"

Waves of dark energy hit my in the thigh, knocking me down hard. Queya joined in soon after.

"My turn baby. Air Cutter!" she shouted.

Air currents formed at a single flap, which also hit me. These two were tough, and it really showed with how good their cooperation was.

"Double Slap!" Kaddry shouted as she jumped at the duo.

Her attack missed and she was hit by Uhetrus' wing, sending her to the floor with me.

"Ugh...What are we going to do?" Kaddry asked, very worried about the situation.

"Let us handle this," Virizion said.

"We have better with experience with creeps like these, so you guys relax," Eleca said.

The duo ran at the Flying Types and jumped with a readied Sacred Sword and Mega Punch.

"Steel Wing!"

"Aerial Ace!"

The four collided, but the Flying duo won the tie and sent both Eleca and Virizion to the floor. Eleca stood her ground while Virizion was out of commission.

"...Reona! I have an idea!" Eleca shouted to me.

She told me in Morse code with her statics which came out of her cheeks. Luckily, I read about Morse code so I knew how to understand it. I nodded my understanding, signalling Eleca to attack again.

"Here goes..." she said. "THUNDERWAVE!"

Sparks flew to both Queya and Uhetrus who became paralyzed after the attack hit them. With now limited movement, I readied my part of Eleca's plan.

"Blast...BURN!" I shouted.

My attack blasted right into the skies, burning Uhetrus and Queya into a crisp. The two were forced back into their original forms and fell back to the floor.

"Oh...That stings..." Uhetrus said.

"Come on, baby. Let's leave here," Queya said.

"Let's," the Honchkrow agreed.

The duo got back up and left for the skies, leaving behind the Shard.

"YEAH! AND DON'T COME BACK!" Eleca shouted angrily.

"We did it!" Kaddry shouted happily. "But...what of my sister...?"

"Kaddry?" a voice called.

We turned to the entrance to find a Delcatty walk in. Kaddry walked toward the Delcatty.

"Fetroa? Is that you?" she asked.

"Yeah. But..." the Delcatty began saying before being attacked by an overjoyed Skitty.

"FETROA! I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU AGAIN! I THOUGHT I HAD LOST YOU!" Kaddry shouted happily, bursting into tears.

"Sis...I told you I was going to be a while. But I guess I was a while longer huh?" Fetroa said. "I'm sorry for making you worry, sis..."

"Its okay, Fetroa. As long as you're safe, it doesn't matter," Kaddry said.

"Oh? Who are your friends?" Fetroa asked.

"These guys? Their my friends," Kaddry said. "Here's Reona, an Explorer; Eleca, the lead singer of the band and an apparent Sage; and Virizion, the keyboardist and guardian."

"So...are you the Ninetales who rescued my sister?" Fetroa asked.

"Of course," I said, smiling.

"Well. Thanks. But I'm sorry for all the trouble, I put you through. Especially Kaddry," Fetroa said. "I was researching the Shard when I was caught and thrown in the basement. Thankfully, I was a Master Thief so I stole the key and let myself out... But I guess my research took ages longer than it should have..."

"Well. Now that our dilemna with Uhetrus is finally over, it is time that I reward you, Reona," Eleca said. "Take this as a sign of our gratitude."

The Light Shard flew into me, feeding its electrical powers to me, allowing me to use Eleca's power.

"Now what?" Kaddry asked.

"I head South," I said.

"Oh. Then I should tell you. The Sage of the South is very mysterious and often hides in secret. Only we Sages and the guardians can ever talk to him, so be on the lookout," Eleca warned.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said.

_~Transition~_

_After thwarting the plot of Big Boss Uhetrus, Reona has gained the power of the Light Shard. She has now set her sights on the South and the final Sage. Who is this mysterious Sage? Can Reona find and meet him? And what of the suddenly quiet Cruel?_

_~Transition~  
>~Cruel's POV~<em>

I sat near my monitor, sipping a glass of red wine. Maria came in with what I hoped was THE report.

"Everything is finally ready, Lord Cruel. By your command, we shall attack," Maria reported.

"Excellent..." I said, drinking my wine. "Soon Reona, we shall see if you are truly worthy of becoming my enemy. Hmhmhmhmhm."

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	23. Finale Part 1

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

FINALE Part 1: The Final Shard

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

After boarding Lapras and setting sail for the South, I decided to start a bit of conversation.

"Hey, Lapras," I began. "Thanks for helping out."

"No need for thanks. Its my job to help people across water," Lapras said. "But I guess in this case, I am glad to help because I'm helping you save the world."

"Yeah. You're right. You'll go down in history as the 'Lapras who Saved the Planet'," I said brightly.

We both laughed as our destination came into close view. But before we could reach any further, Lapras was attacked from below.

"AAH!" Lapras shouted in pain.

"Wh-What's happening?" I asked as Lapras flailed.

"We're under attack!" Lapras shouted.

I saw evidence of poison in her eyes; something poisonous was attacking her. I couldn't use my Fire attacks underwater, and my new Electric attacks could risk Lapras getting hurt. As I was thinking of a strategy, I too was suddenly attacked...by Tentacool!

"Hey! Let go!" I shouted as I swept the Tentacool off.

Soon, a ton of these creepy crawlies of the sea managed to drag me under. I flailed to get free, but everytime I did, those Tentacool relentlessly grabbed me. Everything grew dark...blurry... I couldn't breath...so I guess this was it...for me...

_~Transition~_

_...Ugh...what...?_

I opened my eyes to see a stranger standing before me.

"Dear, are you okay?" the Pokemon asked.

I coughed out some water, trying to gain more concious. I looked around to notice my surroundings. I was on a tropical island.

"Dear?" the Pokemon called.

I turned to the Pokemon, a Kangaskhan. "Yeah. I'm fine...kinda..." I responded.

"Fantastic!" the Kangaskhan said. "Come on, my daughter. She is alive."

A baby Kangaskhan came out of the Kangaskhan's pouch and looked at me. "Hi," she said.

I waved at the baby before realizing what was missing. "Lapras! Where's Lapras!" I shouted.

"No worries, dear. Your carrier Pokemon is over there, resting," the adult Kangaskhan pointed. "She was pretty beat up."

"How did I get here...and where is 'here'?" I asked.

"We are on an island in the South of the mainland," the baby Kangaskhan replied.

"Our island's leaders are awaiting for the coming of the Chosen One," the adult said

"Sounds like the Sage I'm looking for," I said. "I'm the Chosen One whose job is to save the world from evil."

"Alrighty. The Sage lives on the mountain over there," the adult said. "Though the way getting there is easy, the guardian will give you a run for your money."

"Well. Let me think... Keldeo, Terrakion, Virizion... So the last guardian is Cobalion, right?" I asked.

"Yep. When he's not fighting, he's super nice and really friendly. He's also very wise," the baby said.

"Well. I should be going. Look after Lapras please," I said.

"You can count on us," the adult said.

I nodded and ran into the forest, to the mountain.

_~Transition~_

Getting passed the forest was like cutting grass. All it needed was a little determination. Anyway, after getting passed the forest, I came to a clearing where a gazelle-like Pokemon sat with a peaceful smile.

"Greetings, Chosen One," he said, noticing me.

"Hi. Are you Cobalion?" I asked.

"Yes. I am the leader of the Muskateer Trio, Cobalion," the gazelle said.

"Well. I'm Reona. Nice to meet you," I said happily.

"Even though we just met, we must battle. I am a guardian after all," Cobalion said. "Truth be told, I am very relenctant in fighting you, but if it is to save the world, then I shan't hold back."

"Bring it on, Cobalion," I said, getting into battle position.

"Sacred Sword!" Cobalion shouted.

He charged at me in quick speeds with his horns pointing at me. The attack hit me with such a force. But I kept my ground.

"Flamethrower!"

The Iron Will Pokemon dodged easily and retaliated with Retaliate. Luckily, the attack wasn't half as bad as Sacred Sword, but it still do a lot.

"Are you going to give in?" Cobalion asked forcefully.

"In your dreams," I growled.

"...Excellent," he said softly.

"Quick Attack!"

My attack did less than nothing (me forgetting he was a Steel Type). But it did help in one thing.

"Flamethrower!"

The attack sent Cobalion across the field, but he stil stood strong.

"Impressive, but I'm far from finished," he said.

He then roared loudly as he charged at me once more with Sacred Sword. I readied my own attack; Eleca's Volt Tackle. Our attacks passed each other, giving us a sudden pause.

"..."

All but the air was still. After a moment, Cobalion finally fell. I was pretty weak, but I kept snout high. I walked to Cobalion and helped him up.

"Impressive. I have never had such a fight like that since..." Cobalion started with a smile, but soon turned into a frown. "...since humans lived in this world."

"Hm? Humans lived here? In this world?" I asked.

"...Its better I explain once we reach the mountains," Cobalion suggested. "Come. HE is awaiting your arrival."

"Okay... Let's get going," I said, spiritfully.

_~Transition~_

After a really short walk to the foot of the mountain, Cobalion turned to me with an unsure look.

"Are you prepared?" he asked. I nodded. "Very well. Onward then."

The mountain was populated mostly with Dark Type Pokemon as well as a few Psychic Types. They weren't much to us; we swept right through them.

_~Transition~_

We eventually made it to the top, inside a chamber that was lit with Black Flames.

"Sage Atocio! I have returned!" Cobalion called.

The flames suddenly went out, scaring me a bit before they reignited. When they did, it revealed an Umbreon awaiting across from us.

"Reona. I have been waiting for you," the Umbreon said. "I am the Sage of whom you have been seeking; I am Atocio, the Sage of Darkness."

I bowed my head in respect of awesomeness. "Its a pleasure to finally meet you," I said.

"Indeed it is. The trials you have delt with so far...they are of no vain as you stand here," Atocio said. "Hira, Ty, Eleca, and myself; we Sages are nearing the end of our roles as Sages, but not as normal Pokemon. Cruel, or should I call him by his actual name: Ito; has betrayed us as the son of the Sage of Water. Our dear friend, Centa, how she has led you this far, I can only imagine."

"Led me this far?" I asked.

The same glowing orb that's been appearing appeared once more, but this time, it took shape. It became a transparent, female Jellicent.

"Hello, Reona. I'm glad to finally meet you at long last," the Jellicent said.

"Are you Centa?" I asked. "Wait..." I took out the picture I got from the house me and Zoro found a while back and finally realized it. "You are Cruel's mother?"

"Shamefully, yes, I am," Centa admitted. "...I was careless when I brought birth to him; I never thought of the consequences...until..."

Using her Water Sage powers, she conjured a vision of the past. I saw it...the fire...the screams of terror...and...death.

"...Son...why...why would you do this?" the Centa of the past said to a Shiny Tentacool.

"For power, my dear mother. Arceus is nothing more than a bleeding heart. This world needs a king...a god worthy of the title...and even if I have to kill, destroy, and burn everything to the ground to reach that goal...so be it," Ito said evilly.

Just from touching the Water Shard, I saw his body change. He evolved into what he is now, a Tentacruel.

"Ito! No! You are not worthy of such a role! Arceus is the only true being!" Centa shouted.

"...Ito no longer exists now. There only lives the one true god. A god whose power shine forth a light long buried in hell. The world will know my power. The power of CRUEL! Mwahahahahahaha!" the Cruel we've all come to hate laughed.

And with no mercy, Centa took the full brunt of Cruel's killing, being destroyed from the inside-out.

The vision closed, which was fine because I had seen enough.

"Whoa..." I said, shocked by what I saw. "But if I was the Chosen One though...is there another reason for waiting this long for me to realize my destiny?"

"Indeed. We were frightened that if you came to realize your destiny 5 years ago, you would end up like Ito...forgotten and no longer existing," Atocio explained. "Though, up to this point, you have proven to be a purely heartful Pokemon, even for a human. You would help others without question, save lives when they needed it most, and even go as far as to sacrifice your life for the ones you love. This something to truly proud of."

"Yes... I just wish my son would feel the same...but..." Centa said.

"One other thing. Cobalion told that humans lived on this world. If that's true then, what happened to them?" I asked.

"...I guess that deserving. Cobalion?" Atocio called.

"Yes, sir," Cobalion said as he walked to the Sage's side. "The human species did used to live here many eons ago...but that was before...a terror so great appeared in our world. It is unheard of by many, but there is not just one creator of the universe, but two: one of good and one of evil. Arceus is the of good, who has dedicated her life in protecting the world from all sorts of danger. Until the day the humans became extinct here, we were oblivious of the other creator...or should I say destroyer. A beast like no other, this monster match even the powers of Arceus. When this monster came to this world, he used his powers to nearly wipe out all existence. But with the Sage's powers, Arceus managed to push back the evil but at a strong cost. The human race was completely gone from the world, leaving only we Pokemon the only living things on the entire planet. Many of us were saddened by this, but we all eventually got over this ordeal and lived our lives the way you see it now. As once Rescue Teams, now Explorers working to preserve peace in the lands we live in."

"Wow. Amazing. So what of the evil?" I asked.

"The evil is sealed away in the farthest side of the galaxy, in the world called Limbo, where nothing exists," Centa explained.

"Cruel's power has reached to the peak of being called the evil, but we are certain you have what it takes to stop him," Atocio said, confidently.

"If that's the case, its time I stop him at long last," I said.

"Indeed. Your time has come. Follow me," Atocio ordered.

He and I walked to the other side of the room where a Black Shard floated above black water.

"This is it. Are you ready?" Atocio asked.

"I am..." I said.

"HARHARHAR!" a voice laughed.

We looked behind us to see Cobalion crash into a wall, unconcious. At the entrance walked Uhetrus and Queya.

"You two again! Don't you ever learn?" I asked, annoyed in seeing them.

"Well apparently you don't know evil when you see it," Uhetrus said. "Anyway, we'll be taking that there Shard and put it to better use than what you've got going on, girly."

"Oh yeah? You and what army?" Atocio asked, glaring at the crow.

"Harhar! Come forth, my partner in crime!" Uhetrus called.

Then a Froslass, Machamp, and Hitmonlee came from the entrance as well.

"WHAT! Fubuki! Stretch! Brute!" I shouted in shock.

"Look, boys. We have a very unlucky Pokemon ahead of us," Fubuki taunted.

"Fubuki and I were once partners in an illegal crime, smuggling out Crystals. The Crystal production from her was amazing and it helped my business skyrocket above the ranks; only issue was Crystal production and selling was illegal, but we found a loop hole in that little glitch of a law. This was quite something else, until you put your snout in the wrong place, foiling our business completely!" Uhetrus squawked.

"But now its time for payback. Especially after you humilated us all," Queya said angrily.

"Boys, time to join into the fight," Fubuki ordered.

"Dark Pulse!" Uhetrus started.

Me and Atocio dodged the attack and retaliated. But before we could do much at all, Atocio was kicked and punched by a combination of Brute and Stretch's attacks. And I was tied by my hind legs by a whip made by Fubuki. She then flung me across the room, forcing me to a wall. And if that wasn't bad enough, I was jabbed in the stomach by Queya and her Aerial Ace. In no time flat, we were already weakened greatly.

"Hahahaha! This is too easy!" Fubuki taunted.

"Don't give her the chance to recover. Destroy her with everything you've got," Uhetrus ordered.

"No need to be bossy," Fubuki complained.

I was once again flung into a wall and hit by anattack from eith Queya and Uhetrus. Soon, I was completely wounded, my body unable to much more from these guys. I had no choice.

"Blast...BURN!" I shouted.

I shot my attack Uhetrus, Queya and Fubuki, only for it to get blocked by Brute (who used Endure) and pounded me to the ground with his weight. Unable to move, I could only faint as I saw my demise.

_~Uhetrus's POV~_

"HARHARHAR!" I laughed. "YEAH! THAT'S RIGHT WE WIN, YOU LOSE! HARHARHAR!"

"I'd never thought I see the day," Fubuki said, laughing at her victory.

"Shall we finish her off, my jack-of-all-trades?" Queya asked seductively.

"Let's, my sweet potato," I responded.

We began charging our best attacks, ready to complete rid the world of this Fox Lady. But before we could finish her, we were suddenly attacked. The Creation Trio and Arceus flew in and boy did they look angry.

"YIKES!" Stretch shouted in fear.

"What are they doing here!" Queya shouted.

"You are 5 are in a huge crap ton of trouble," Palkia said, cracking her knuckles.

"...Gulp..."

"Roar of Time!" Dialga shouted.

The attack blasted Stretch off of Atocio and out the mountain room.

"Spacial Rend!"

With a single slash, Brute was blasted out with Stretch.

"Shadow Force!"

Giratina snuck behind Fubuki and sent her flying as well. With our reinforcement gone, me and Queya could only hug each other in pure fear.

"Hyper Beam!" Arceus shouted.

The attack sent us both flying. "LOOKS LIKE WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" we shouted in unison.

_~Reona's POV~_

"...Ar...ceus..." I barely managed to say.

"You needn't worry, Reona. Just hold tight while we gift you with the Dark Shard," Arceus said. "Atocio!"

"...Errr... Present," he said as he stood up.

"Proceed with the ceremony," Arceus commanded nicely.

"Yes, ma'am," Atocio obeyed.

He collected the Shard from its spot and it began to float towards me on its own. But rather than enter my body as the other three, it resurrected the other Shards from my body. Their sparkles revived my body enabling me to get up.

The Shards then began to dance above me. The Forest shined like a beautiful cherry blossom, spawning much of these through out the room; the Fire Shard glowed as white as the snow it originated from, making the room snow all of a sudden along with the cherry blossoms; the Light Shard glowed with flower petals as it made flowers grow from the floor below us; and finally, the Dark Shard, despite its name, created an illusion of the sun to illuminate the room with sheer beauty. These Shards created a powerful and almost real illusion of a field from a memory I will never forget.

"...Mom..." I said softly. "...I guess you knew about this the entire time...huh? I promise...I won't let you down."

The Shards reacted to my words and all entered my body at once. Their power filled me with so much strength. I can tell I was completely equal in strength with Cruel. Once the Shards were gone, the room returned to its normal state.

"As I suspected," Arceus began as she walked up to me with a smile. "You have been accepted as the Chosen One by even the Dark Shard. It has saw you as a pure hearted Pokemon and a human with a strong will. The time has finally come at long last."

"Yes. It has..." I agreed.

Before we could do much though, the ground began shaking. This quake felt all too familiar to me. I looked out the holes the Creation Trio made to see the mainland...and could not believe what I saw. Kramzak's old castle rose from the sands of the desert once more, but it seemed different from before.

"Cruel..." I growled lowly.

"How fitting. The very place where Kramzak was killed is the prefered place for the final battle," Cobalion commented.

"Are you ready, Reona?" Arceus asked.

"...Cruel is going down for sure this time," I said. "His evil shall not go unpunished. The lives he has taken up to this point shall not live in vain. Cruel's reign of infinite terror ends today."

I walked passed the group and out the entrance.

"Good luck, Reona," Giratina said.

"May Time and Space be with you," Dialga cheered.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	24. Finale Part 2

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Finale Part 2: Nostalgia among the Castle

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

I raced my way through the mainland as fast as I could. Cruel's resurrected Castle brought a huge panic in town. Everyone was advised to take shelter until the entire ordeal was over, which they didn't hesitate. As I ran through the forest, into desert territory, I get stopped by Team Vendetta.

"Hold it, Reona. You're not going to escape our wrath this time," Soara said.

"Yeah. There's no snow for you to cause an avalanche with, so you're trapped," Crystal said.

"Ugh... Can it you two; I don't have time to mess with you right now," I said forcefully, walking by them.

"Hold it!" Soara shouted, grabbing my tail.

I quickly turned and glared at the duo with a serious angry face. "Alright. Now I'm just tired of seeing you now," I said, yanking back my tail. "You two are by far the weakest villians I have ever seen. Actually you're not even villians at all. You're just kids."

"We are villians! Good villians!" Soara shouted.

"And we're definitely not kids!" Crystal shouted.

"Okay. I was hoping not to tell you this, but..." I took a deep breath. "You two are kids. You are just bratty who have no real hobby except getting in my and my friends' way. You don't have an official team badge; you have no leader; you argue a lot; you have no coordination; you're weak; you are getting on my nerves; you are not villians in the slightest; and you are just annoying. Go home! AND LEAVE ME THE F*** ALONE!"

Soara and Crystal's eyes formed tears before they both ran away crying. Honestly, that hurt me more than it hurt them. In any case, I proceeded.

_~Transition~  
>~Soara's POV~<em>

I ran through the forest, tears falling in the air as I ran. Reona was right, I was no villian...I was a loser.

"Soara! Wait up!" Crystal shouted.

I stopped and continued my sobbing whilst facing my friend. "Oh...she's right. We're nothing but losers," I said, wiping away a few tears.

"Don't say that. We'll get back at her," Crystal said.

"Give it up, Crystal. Our plans stink; we're not good fighters; we're not even an official team. We're just...friends who like hanging out together..." I said, crossing my arms.

"...Soara..." Crystal said. "...Listen. I don't want to see you crying. We'll just have to get stronger. Soon, we'll be on everyone's Wanted poster. We'll be popular."

"I don't want to be a villian," I admitted. "I...wanted to have a friend..."

"...Soara. Do you need a hug?" Crystal asked.

I nodded and recieved a hug from my Masquerain friend. I cried more tears, but they were only tears. Nothing more.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

I stood in front of the gate of Kramzak's old castle. The gates rose, allowing me entry. But before I entered...

"Going somewhere, Reona?" an old familiar voice asked.

I turned to see Jun, Ethereal, and Zoro standing there with wide smiles. "Jun!" I shouted, running at my dear old friend. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Mother Nature explained to us what you were up to so we've been preparing for when these guys ever showed their faces," Jun explained.

"We also brought some extra help," Ethereal said, pointing to a group of our friends, new and old.

"Kumo! Ebro! Sala! Bullet!" I called.

"We're here for you, Reona," Sala said softly.

"Till the end!" Ebro shouted.

"Its time we defeated Team Cruel and bury them once and for all!" Kumo shouted.

"I don't care much for you guys, but if its killing Cruel you're doing I'm more than in," Bullet said, readying his claws. "Just don't get in my way."

"...Thanks everyone. I appreciate the extra support. I really do. I don't know what I would do without you guys," I said, tears almost falling out of my eyes.

"Ugh. Before we start hugging, let's get things moving," Bullet complained.

I nodded at this and led the charge into the castle.

_~Transition~_

The castle has changed from being all stone to being mostly steel, to Sala's surprise. Other than that, nothing seems changed.

"I suspect Cruel is awaiting us at the top floor of the castle," Sala estimated.

"Then let's make tracks," I ordered.

We climbed the castle and ran through its many hallways. This being the enemy's territory, there were a ton of Shadow Pokemon around: Shuppet, Beedrill, Tentacool, Croagunk, Murkrow, and Gengar. Everything turned for the better after some time up the castle walls. Memories began to flash back to me as we raced up the halls and stairs. Sala, Jun, and Ethereal must've also felt the unnerving nostalgia wash over them. Everyone who died in these walls...everyone who wanted peace more than anything...and those who came around to see their errors... Their faces looked as bright as ever to me. This whole adventure wasn't just for the world; it was for Duro; it was for Kramzak; it was for Kizone; it was for all those who died by Cruel's wickedness, innocent or otherwise. Their sacrifices won't ever go in vain.

_~Transition~_

We eventually made it to the door which concealed the room where me and Kramzak fought 5 years ago. His old throne room. Inside, Cruel was most likely sitting on Kramzak's throne. The doors opened, allowing us passage into Cruel's lair.

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	25. Finale Part 3

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Finale Part 3: Team Cruel's Downfall, Toxic and Maria's Last Stand

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

Once we entered the throne room, the doors closed behind us. Across the room from us was a sitting Cruel.

"Hmhmhm," Cruel chuckled as he got up. "Welcome all to my lair. Did you enjoy the free tour?"

"We're not here for idol chitchat, Cruel. Today is the day you fall at last," I said forcefully.

"Is that so, Reona?" Cruel asked. "Then you must've collected the Shards then, hm? If this is the case, then this fight will far too much for this puny world." A portal opened behind Cruel, allowing him an access of escape. "Follow me, if you dare, Reona."

Cruel stepped through the portal, taunting me into going in after him, which I did.

_~Jun's POV~_

Reona went into the portal, Bullet trying to follow. But he was forced back by Cruel's two partners, Maria and Toxic.

"Hehehe," Maria giggled. "Its finally time. The final battle finally starts, yes, Toxic?"

"Big time. Hehe," Toxic laughed, grinning evilly at us.

"Everyone, looks like Reona's on her own on this one too. Ready?" I asked.

Everyone nodded, and we got into battle positions. Toxic jumped at us like usual, separating us. Ethereal was with Sala and Ebro, while me, Bullet, and Kumo fought Toxic.

"Fun time with Uncle Toxic has commenced," Toxic said.

He jumped at us once more, but this time I decided to intercept his attack with my Force Palm. He was a tad stronger than I was, but I had back up. Kumo attacked him from the back, using Poison Jab as his first attack. With my extra back up, my Force Palm did its work, stunning Toxic and slowing him down.

"Crap!" Toxic shouted angrily.

_~Ethereal's POV~_

Me and Sala were dodging Maria's many barrages of Shadow Balls.

"Shadow Punch!" Ebro shouted.

He quickly punched Maria in the face forcing quite a large hit on her, but not quite enough.

"How rude..." Maria said.

With a snap of her finger, a huge bunch of Shadow Balls appeared around the Dusknoir. With another snap, the Shadow Balls rapidly came at Ebro. However, Sala quickly retaliated by using her Psychic powers to shield him from the attacks.

While this was going on, I quickly jumped from behind and shot my Ice Beam at Maria, surprising her.

_~Jun's POV~_

Toxic was proving quite tough. But luckily, my Psychic attacks were getting in some good free hits on him.

Kumo used Spider Web on the toad, forcing him to the ground. Bullet went in for Bullet Punch and quickly got out of the way for my attack.

"Aura Sphere!" I shouted.

I launched the attack at Toxic, forcing out of the Spider Web and into a corner.

_~Ethereal's POV~_

Maria was getting tired quickly, thankfully because of our dodging. Ebro went in for another Shadow Punch, knocking her down from the sky and onto the floor. Sala and I jumped into the air and launched Shadow Ball at the menacing ghost. This sent her to where Toxic was, in a corner.

_~Jun's POV~_

"Whew... That was quite interesting," I commented.

"Hmph. Totally not worth my time," Bullet commented harshly.

"Had enough over there!" Ethereal taunted.

I heard something behind us and turned to see a portal on the floor. Everyone else turned as well.

"What the... What's coming?" Ebro asked.

"I don't know, but its strong," I said, shaking at the power.

The creature rose from the portal. It was revealed to be a Golurk.

"Oh no...not again," Ethereal said, not looking forward to the fight.

The Golurk quickly launched a punch at us. We dodged his seemingly slow punch, and made a quick retaliation. But we were sent back by the sudden wave of Shadow energy.

"What's this guy's deal?" I asked Sala.

"He's the protector of this castle. Has been for even longer than Kramzak has been King. We found him and decided to use him as a loyal soldier," Sala explained. "He's primarily brawn so be cautious of his attacks."

"THANKS FOR TELLING ME 5 YEARS LATER!" Ethereal screamed angrily.

The massive golem let loose another punch at us. This time we changed from short ranged to long range; I used Psychic to lift the massive golem up in the air and knock him down. Ethereal used Ice Beam to lock him in place. Finally, Sala used Shadow Ball at the chest portion of Golurk. This did quite a bit, but unfortunately, he wasn't down.

He broke free of his bonds and got up, ready for more. Bullet used Bullet Punch, but got sent back by the burst of Shadow Energy.

"Damn...what is this thing releasing?" Bullet asked, very annoyed by this golem.

"I don't know...but..." I began thinking of a plan. "Ebro! Use Shadow Punch! I think that move will break whatever barrier Golurk is hiding behind!"

"Got it!" Ebro responded. "Shadow Punch!"

The attack collided with the Shadowy barrier and, just as I planned, broke through it, knocking Golurk down in one punch.

With his barrier broken, we all launched a full scale attack, weakening this thing even further. I launched an Aura Sphere at the chest strap on it, cracking it. Bullet went in for the kill as his Bullet Punch broke the strap, leading to Golurk's pain.

"We did it!" Ethereal shouted happily. "And I still have my bones intact!"

But before we could truly celebrate, Golurk gave one last attack: Earthquake. After stomping his foot, the golem exploded into particles which flowed in the wind. The Earthquake was so powerful it began to make the castle collapse on itself.

"We need to get out of here!" I shouted.

"I will use Teleport and get us out of here!" Sala shouted with a suggestion.

I agreed to the idea, but my mind went to a small problem. Maria and Toxic were back on their feet once more, this time glowing with their Shadow energy. I glared at them with a rage I wish I could set aside, but couldn't.

"Jun! What are you doing!" Ethereal shouted.

"If these two escape here, we'll be in some deep crap. I want to make sure they don't. You guys go, I'll handle them," I ordered.

"But Jun..." Ethereal said.

"I said go on without me!" I shouted angrily. "This one's for Kizone."

My aura began to show itself. Ethereal tried reaching out for me, but Sala quickly teleported away before castle could completely collapse. With a ready aura, I shot my most powerful Aura Sphere at the duo.

_~Transition~  
>~Ethereal's POV~<em>

We stood outside in the desert, only mildly damaged. I quickly looked at the falling castle, but turned away, knowing Jun was still in there.

"...He...He died...for us..." Kumo said.

My ears perked up at the sound of rocks moving from the castle. But what had risen up striked me with fear. Maria and Toxic, now in Shadow Form, were still alive. With a quick roar they ran at us with bloodthirsty eyes...and sharp claws.

But before they reached us, a wall of vines rose from the ground and blocked them.

"So, did we miss anything!" a voice shouted.

We looked at a dune of sand to find Mother Nature and 3 others with her.

"Mother!" I shouted, happy to see her.

"Grrr. Who invited them!" Toxic shouted, baring his teeth.

_~Hira's POV~_

I quickly smacked the toad in the face. "Its quite rude to bare your fangs at your elders. Especially when one of them is a Sage," I said.

"We came as soon as we heard you guys were fighting Team Cruel," Ty explained.

"With all four of us here, we should take care of these two, no problem," Eleca said with confidence.

"Your time has come, Team Cruel. This it for you," Atocio said, keeping his head up high.

"The four sages of the Shards. My, they are quite a team, aren't they?" Maria taunted us.

"Hehehe. Leave them to me; I'll kick their butts and then cut them off with my claws," Toxic chuckled.

Toxic and Maria leaped at us with sheer bloodthirstiness in their eyes. I used my vines to smack Maria away from me and partnered myself with Eleca.

"Ready, Hira?" she asked me.

"You damn straight I am," I said with a smug smile.

_~Ty's POV~_

If we were going toe to toe with this guy, Atocio decided to summon his blade which glowed of darkness, just as his Shard did. I then ran at Toxic and collided strength with him. I managed to push him back some, but using his Shadow energy, he soon gained the upper hand.

"Hold on, my friend!" Atocio shouted as he jolted his at Toxic.

He used a tough Double Edge on the fiend sending him back far in the sands.

"Now that is what I am talking about," I complemented.

Toxic rose from the sands, now really mad. We ran at him together this time, ready to match strength with strength.

_~Hira's POV~_

Maria was proving to be no adversary to me or Eleca. We kept hitting her with our second best moves: my Leaf Blade and Eleca's Thunderbolt; and causing severe damage to her.

"There is no way I'll lose!" Maria shouted angrily.

She blocked my Leaf Blade with her claws and then smacked me with her tail. Luckily, I was very dangerously defensive. Eleca used Volt Tackle on Maria, ultimately knocking her in the air. She was relentless, I give her that, but even she was no match for us. I boost my own ego, don't I?

_~Ty's POV~_

Our power vs power fight was going great; we had Toxic on the ropes. That is until he used a clever strategy of knocking sand in my eyes and readied his claws to stab me.

"Ty!" Atocio called.

He threw his sword at me, allowing me to catch it. With it the long sharp blade, I ultimately stabbed, Toxic in the chest. In his heart.

"Ugh...What?..." Toxic asked before he realized the blade in his chest. "No...I have been...bested..."

_~Maria's POV~_

I looked over at Toxic to him coughing out blood and fall onto the sands. Was he...

"Toxic? TOXIC!" I shouted.

I quickly floated to his side and saw him struggling. He looked at me with his red eyes.

"Ma...Maria..." he said faintly.

"D...Don't worry, Toxic. You'll be fine. Cruel can help you...no, I can. I'll use my Shadow powers to heal you," I said, tears forming as I made a fake smile.

"...Maria... Its no use... There's no way to help me...and you know it..." Toxic said as he clenched my hand.

"But...But I have to try... Out of all the Pokemon in this damned world, you're the only one I didn't want to die," I admitted. "I love you and I don't want to let go."

"...You loved me, huh?" Toxic said as he made a real smile. "Funny...I had the exact same...feelings for you when...we first met..." He stared into the sky. "When I first set eyes on you...I felt this incredible longing...A want...and what I wanted...was you...to be with me..."

"T-Toxic... I remember how many times we've been together... Our first kill, our first actual conversation... Such memories... I will never let them go," I said.

Toxic coughed out a huge amount of blood making me worry even further.

"Huff...huff... I never got to ask the one question. Would you bare my children...?" Toxic asked.

"I would have. For you...and me. I wouldn't have cared what Cruel said or done to me, I would rather fight him for my children than give it up," I said with tears.

"Heh... I'm glad... But the reason asked...was to help you become happy... I was sure my children would make you happy...if I would bare any at this point..." Toxic said.

"Toxic... Please...don't go..." I begged, tears falling in waterfalls over him.

"...I'm sorry...Maria..." he said as he finally breathed his last.

His hand heavily fell to the ground as I watched with tear filled eyes.

"Toxic...?" I called quietly. I could feel my rage build as I recieved no reply. "YOU BASTARDS! YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED MY LOVE!" I got closer to the corpse. "Do not worry, my love. With your and my power, I will crush these fools into oblivion!"

I then sunk my fangs into Toxic's flesh, absorbing all of his Shadow and combining it with my own.

_~Hira's POV~_

I could sense a really dangerous increase in energy coming from Maria. She was...devouring Toxic's energy!

"EVERYONE! GET BACK!" I shouted quickly.

Maria's body began growing as the new energy formed into her body. Along with her new size, her shape began to change as well. She began to transform into more of a dragon creature. Long wings, black scales, and a horrifying roar, she wasn't even a Pokemon anymore. She was...a monster...an evil dragon.

"What the hell is that thing!" Eleca shouted.

"This...is something else..." I could only say.

Even I was pondering on what to call it. Whatever this monster was, it wasn't Maria. Not anymore. With another massive roar, darkness began to form in the sky. This was not good. Not at all.

"Hey!" a voice called.

I turned to see Jun, still alive and well. Ethereal ran to the Lucario and smacked him in the jaw.

"Don't you ever do that again!" Ethereal exclaimed.

"Sorry. I guess my plan backfired," Jun said.

I heard a huge crowd of Pokemon coming from the direction of town. I turned to see the entire Federation of Exploration Teams, Samy included.

_~Jun's POV~_

"So, Hira. Are you ready for one final battle?" I asked the old snake.

"...Hmph. I am," she responded.

I nodded at her and raced to the giant monster. Team Charm and the Wigglytuff Guild started their attacks on the monster, causing it to roar in pain. With a massive roar, it shot a blast of shadow energy at them, completely missing them.

"Thunder!" Team PokePals's leader, Sparks, shouted.

"Psybeam!" Sarah, Sparks partner, shouted.

Both attacks hit the monster hard, nearly knocking it down. While it was dazed, Samurott and Posia climbed it upwards and used both their swords to inflict incredible damage. I saw Reshiram and Zekrom come into view from the skies with thir readied attacks.

"Fusion Bolt!"

Zekrom's attack knocked the creature down, allowing Reshiram's Fusion Flare to hit even easier. But even that didn't keep it down.

"Poison Jab!"

"Shadow Punch!"

A combination of Ebro and Kumo's attacks sent the monster tumbling once more. Team Frostbite, Team Iron Breakers, Sala, Kala, Mischief all used whatever they could to keep the creature down. I readied all my aura for one big attack, but I needed an opening.

"Fly!"

"Confusion!"

A sudden appearance by Team Vendetta cut open an opening, revealing the weak point I needed.

"Go for it, guy!" the Kirlia shouted.

"Here goes. This one is for Kizone!" I shouted as I prepared the attack. "Aura...STORM!"

My attack shot through the opening and ultimately to the creature's weakness, Maria herself. The creature dissolved into nothing as Maria vanished into dust from my attack.

_~Transition~  
>~Maria's POV~<em>

_...Maria..._

_...Toxic..._

_It seems we both lost..._

_...I don't care... As long as I'm with you, victory is always with us..._

_...Maria... Let's go to the afterlife...together._

_Yes,...my love..._

_~Transition~  
>~Jun's POV~<em>

We did it...but we didn't celebrate. I looked into the sky...as the sun grew suddenly and eerily darker. Reona...

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	26. Finale Part 4

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Finale Part 4: Cruel, The Emperor of Eternal Darkness

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

I was suddenly in the East, which was covered with darkness. An evil only Cruel can conjure up. That bastard...I could sense him in the mountains. There was no mistaking it. I raced my way up the mountain and the shrine that awaited me.

_~Transition~_

After entering the strange shrine, I saw something amongst the darkness. Someone had beated me to Cruel. It was...Shadeon.

"Ah, Lady Reona. I am glad you came here," Shadeon said to me after getting knocked back by Cruel. "I wasn't sure how long I could keep that up."

"Shadeon! Where have you been! And what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Training. I figured I could be of some help for you in the final battle at least. But in my condition, I'm afraid I might just hinder you," Shadeon admitted. "Make no mistake. Despite the darkness shrouding him, this is the entity that has caused so much pain. Lord Cruel. Ah, but its so dark here, you can't exactly see him. Pity."

The ground began shaking harshly suddenly. "What's happening?" I asked.

"Its just as I feared. The dreaded Day of Eternal Darkness," Shadeon said.

I looked up at the sky to see the sun. It was being blocked off by the moon; it was a solar eclipse. Once the sun was completely gone, the shrine glowed, revealing Cruel in his darkness. Though something felt different. In one glare, I suddenly felt my powers leave me. And indeed they did; the Shards left my body and floated to Cruel as if he had manipulated them. I fell to the ground, my energy sapped away from me.

"Such a horrid fate. Only on this very day is the power of Arceus rendered helpless. Something that not even the great deities can stop," Shadeon said.

"Hmph. Such a pity. But I must thank you, Reona. You have personally delivered the powers to be a god to me. So here is your reward," Cruel said.

H charged a Hydro Pump and shot at me... But Shadeon blocked it with his Shadow energy in order to save me.

"Don't worry, Reona. For everyone's sake! I will not let you die! Not here! Not now! I will not become a burden to you like I did when we fought Fubuki together! I wanted to prove myself a better Pokemon, and you helped gain the courage to do so!" Shadeon shouted as he tried pushing back the attack, but to no avail.

He was knocked back some, making him drop his scarf. "Reona... I never got to thank you... You were the first and only Pokemon who considered me a friend... You, despite me being an enemy, trusted me without hesitation and even allowed me to prove how good I was. Thank you...Reona..." Shadeon said as a tear washed down his face. As he spoke, Cruel readied another Hydro Pump. "You must...save our world...as well as your own...from this tyrant...for all have died...for me...and Kizone..."

With that said, Shadeon was shot by the Hydro Pump off the shrine and into a dark abyss. I only watched as he plummeted. I got up and turned to Cruel who was simply chuckling.

"Now that it's gone, shall we begin?" Cruel asked, ready for the final fight.

"Cruel! Your time has come!" I roared in anger.

_~First Phase~_

The Dark Lord transformed into his first form, the Forest Form, turning his tentacles into vines similar to Frenzy Plant. He even sunk them into the ground to ambush me. I was in one kind of disadvantage as I had none of the powers to help me. But for Shadeon and Kizone, I fought on.

Cruel's tentacle vines appeared from beneath me and managed to get stuck, enabling me to burn them with my original Fire powers. This indirectly injured Cruel as he roared loudly after he retracted his tentacles. Out of anger, he threw Golett at me, unsing them as projectiles in order wear me down.

What he didn't count on was his bad aiming and my good dodging. Haha! That is until he tried hitting me with his entire body; basically he tried body slamming me. I struck at him with Quick Attack albeit somewhat effective due to his lack-luster defense, but he was still able to take the hit.

He once again sunk his tentacles into the ground in order to hit me, but missed entirely. But he became clever and threw his Golett at me as I tried to approach. Obvious solution: blow fire from far away, duh. Once I did, Cruel was completely stunned, enabling me to use Blast Burn on the bastard.

After that hit him, the Forest Shard retreated from his body and returned to me. I had regained the powers of the Sage of Forest, Hira. And with her power back, I became strong once more.

_~Second Form~_

With the Forest Shard gone, Cruel decided to transform...into a rock... Seriously, Cruel? A rock? Well all he did was jump around destroyed the floor around us which, WHOA! I nearly fell into a hole. Hehe.

Anyway, using Hira's powers, I rejuvenated the floors Cruel destroyed so that way I would not make another accident. But as I was doing this, Cruel unfolded and revealed having lava tentacles. He lashed these dangerous tentacles at me, but I managed to dodge them. Oh and I guess my ability Flash Fire helped a bit too.

I jumped above the Dark Lord and pushed him into the floor with my tails. And with my tails, as vines, I whipped the hard armor that was the rock protecting him. I manage to chip some of it off, but this only forced Cruel into being defensive. He began destroying the floor as well as laying down Fire Mines across the floor, though they didn't serve any real use. They basically burned a Pokemon if it were unlucky to step on one. But Fire Types like me can't get burned.

I pushed Cruel back on the floor once more, stunning him once more. With Frenzy Plant, I shattered his rock body forcing him to ooze into pure lava.

After he was down again, the Fire Shard made a hasty retreat back into my body, reigniting my flames once more. The Sage of Fire, Ty's power was with me once more.

_~Third Phase~_

Cruel once again took on another form. And this one I found funny. ITS A GIANT SLOT MACHINE!...with electrical tentacles. Comedic, I have to say. The slots began moving signalling me to hit them. I scored...three Tentacruel.

This was bad luck because he shot elecricity everywhere from the ground to the sky. I managed to dodge a few bolts, but when they did hit, IT HURT! Anyway, I played slot machine with the bastard again and this time scored three Pikachu.

This caused his slot machine to break apart and leave him vulnerable. While was using weak electrical attacks, I used every moment of this to take him down, using Flamethrower and Frenzy Plant to chip him down.

After a while, the slot machine reformed and began rolling again. I played once more hitting Psyduck this time. Nothing happened. Huh. Just like Splash. We played again and scored two Pikachu and one Tentacruel.

This left Cruel somewhat defenseless as only small portions of the slot machine fell off. He was very quick to attack with electricity too. But I managed a few hits on him. The slot machine reformed and guess what I scored. LUCKY NUMBER 7!

This completely stunned Cruel once more as the slot machine got completely destroyed. With a massive Blast Burn, I forced his electric bill to expire.

The Light Shard, belonging from the Sage of Light, Eleca, returned to me willingly after being released from Cruel. I had my electrical attacks back. Awesome!

_~Fourth Phase~_

I give very much credit, the guy was very relentless in battling me. He transformed into what a Dark Lord should look like, a dark tentacled monster with smoke for tentacles. Cruel shot a beam of dark energy at me at which I was hit by.

The attack wasn't so bad, but it did hurt a little. His smokey tentacles also grabbed me and threw me in all sorts of directions. Using my new electrical powers though, I escaped his grasp and fired a huge bolt of electricity at the Dark Lord.

This left Cruel dazed allowing me to used Volt Tackle on him. He continued to lash out his somewhat invisible tentacles at me, but to only a very minor avail. Using Ty's Flame Wheel, I blew away the smoke tentacles and forced Cruel to plummet.

I went in for some good hits and then used Volt Tackle before his tentacles reformed. Once back in the air, used a dark energy to shround himself in complete darkness. But using Thunderbolt, I illuminated the field once more and hit Cruel.

I could tell he was getting seriously mad as his attacks became more fierce. I blew away his tentacles once more, leaving him vulnerable to more of my attacks. After a Volt Tackle to the face, Cruel was sent flipping in circles as he was stunned on the floor (like he wasn't already?). I used Volt Tackle on him, forcing him to crack under pressure.

The Dark Shard, originating from Atocio, the Sage of Dark, came back to me. With the energizing power back, I made a quick roar signalling that I was ready for anything Cruel had now.

_~Final Phase~_

Since he had only the Water Shard left, Cruel transformed into his watery form, with water-based tentacles. He lashed these tentacles at me, trying to drown me like he did before. But for his information, I had enough drowning for one day.

I quickly ran at him with a ready Frenzy Plant. As I did, a spirit of a Bayleef of whom I never met appeared. She smiled brightly at me, telling me that I could trust her. My Frenzy Plant destroyed most of Cruel's tentacles, which was a bit of a shocker to me.

I readied my Flame Wheel and ran at the bastard again. This time, the spirit of Duro appeared beside me.

"Allow my strength to guide you to victory," he said to me.

My Flame Wheel cracked opened the original Cruel. The Water Shard was just his armor apparently.

I went in for a Volt Tackle. The spirit of Javaline appeared beside me when I began running. She had her stingers ready to stab Cruel. I knew she must've been there to help as well. My Volt Tackle ran passed the Dark Lord, chipping another huge chunk of his Water armor off.

I used Dark Pulse this time. As I did, the spirit of Kramzak appeared. He looked at me gently and nodded as he launched his Pin Missile at Cruel along with my Dark Pulse. This rendered Cruel completely defenseless.

I ran at Cruel and tackled him hard several times before shooting my Blast Burn at him, completely burning him to submission.

Cruel plemmeted down, too weak to float anymore. I had won the fight. But the sun was still dark. I howled at the sun, unaware of a trap. I was grabbed by the leg by Cruel and shocked by his Shadow aura. My powers began fading; and that wasn't all. My body began to transform as well. When he threw me down, I was a human again. But how!

"Hmhmhm. You have proven to be quite a challenge, Reona. But now it is time to face to true power...of Cruel, the Emperor of Eternal Darkness!" Cruel shouted as he laughed.

His body transformed this time it also grew. His body became entirely black with a red outline; and his tentacles grew fingered claws, making the evil Lord even more fierce-looking. Especially, with me without my powers...and with no hope... Was this...the end?

* * *

><p><em><strong>To be concluded...?<strong>_


	27. Finale Part 5

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2: Cruelity Beyond the Shards

Finale Part 5: Reona, the Chosen One

* * *

><p><em>~Transition~<br>~Reona's POV~_

I laid on the floor, tears in my eyes. I had lost; I let everyone, even my own peers down. My powers were no more, and I was in my human form; there is no hope.

"So that's it, huh?" a voice said.

Kizone, or at least his spirit, appeared before me with a glare. "You are just going to give up after everything you have worked for? Getting this far in your life?" Kizone asked. "That doesn't sound like the Reona I know."

"But what am I to do, Kizone?" I asked, crying as I spoke. "I've lost my powers. I'm no longer a Ninetales. There is no hope in winning."

"...Listen...do you hear that?" Kizone asked.

I heard...voices...multiple voices... "Brenda, why has the sky gone dark?" a familiar young voice asked.

Linda...Brenda... Hira's children?

_~Transition~_

"Come on, friend! There's no reason to give up now!" Keldeo shouted in the sky as if expecting a reply.

_~Transition~_

"Reona! Please, you are our last hope in ever seeing the day again! Mom said you were stronger than this!" Brenda shouted.

"Stronger than this! Reona is always strong!" Linda shouted.

_~Transition~_

"You helped us see the rainbow again, Miss Reona! Please, I don't want that one time to be the last time I see the rainbow aurora!" the Cubchoo I saved a while back said.

"Shake a leg!"

"Don't just sit there and do nothing!"

"Fight! Fight! FIIIIGHT!"

_~Transition~_

"Come on, baby! You helped us recieve our freedom! I don't that to go to waste!" the Electabuzz shouted.

"Please Reona! We wish for a bright future! A future with the sun shining!" Kaddry shouted.

Her big sister cuddled next to her.

_~Transition~_

"Mom. Can the Fox Lady win?" the baby Kangaskhan asked.

"Worry not, love. Reona will help us see the sun again. Right, Reona?" the adult asked.

_~Transition~_

The Muskateer Trio had their hopes up as well. Hopes of the sun shining.

"Reona... Don't give in... You've fought tougher than this before..." Cobalion said softly.

"You've always handled yourself nicely, even when the situation looked grim," Virizion said.

"You'd best not lose this fight! We are all depending on you!" Terrakion shouted.

_~Transition~_

"Without the sun, my sales will plummet. Please Reona. For everyone's sake, save our world!" Bandit shouted.

_~Transition~_

"Reona! We are all behind you all the way!" Sala shouted.

"Win or lose, we will always see you as our hero," Ebro said.

"You have helped us all in the past, now its time we helped you, Reona," Kumo said.

_~Transition~_

"...Everyone..." I said, tears coming out even harder.

"So you can hear them. Yes, they are the very beings in which you helped before. They are praying for your success," Kizone said wisely.

My tears...they couldn't stop running out my eyes. But still felt hopeless.

_Reona..._

Huh? Jun?

_Please... Don't give up... Everyone, even myself, is counting on you. You are the most hopeful Pokemon...no, person I have ever seen in my life._

_We all believe in you._

_Come on Reona!_

Zoro...Ethereal...too... Alright.

I stood up in front of Shadow Cruel.

"Cruel! I'm not giving up! Everyone is relying on me to destroy you once and for all! I will help them see the sun again! The curse you've put on the world! It shall be undid!" I shouted confidently.

My body began to pulse suddenly as my form changed once more. I was a Ninetales again. The Shards also were restored again.

"What?" Cruel suddenly said.

The Shards, rather than flying into my body, flew into the sky and brought the sun. Just that was enough to ignite my flame to its fullest. I howled loudly at the sun, making it shine brighter.

"Alright, Cruel. Let's end this!" I roared.

Fate was on my side once more. I ran at Cruel at full speed, my body glowing with fire ultimately hitting him hard. The Dark Lord retaliated by throwing multiple Spheres of Dark Energy at me. But I sent these back at him, injuring him more.

"Impossible! How can this be!" Cruel shouted, angered by my new power.

He threw him many clawed tentacles at me trying to cut me, but every last of his attempts missed. All sorts of attacks and fireworks were going around us as the our fight, the fight between Love and Hate, continued.

I was grabbed by his tentacles, but using my fiery aura I released myself and permanently burned off his tentacles (or at least some). I then tackled the monster, making him topple over.

"Grr. DAMN YOU, REONA!" Cruel shouted, frustrated my advantage.

He then jumped in the air, trying to escape my reach. But I followed and went far above him.

"What goes up, must come down," I said before slamming my tails on him, sending the Dark Lord tumbling down hard.

I landed near him, awaiting his next move. He lashed his tentacles at me one final time. I do mean final time; I raised my aura and simply walked toward Cruel. As I did, any tentacles that approached got scorched completely and turned to ash. I stopped in front of the now scared Cruel.

"Who... WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" Cruel shouted in fear.

"...I'm just a lowly human," I replied.

I readied one final attack, making Cruel try to get away. Kizone's spirit appeared beside me with a readied Aura Storm, which I smiled at.

"Blast...BURN!"

"Aura...STORM!"

Both of our attacks combined together and hit Cruel directly.

"NO! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! HOW COULD I HAVE LOST!" Cruel shouted as his body slowly dissolved into ash. "NOOOO!"

An explosion became the end result of our attacks, causing a sort of black out for me.

_~Transition~  
>~Jun's POV~<em>

I saw it. The solar eclipse. It ended. The moon that blocked the sun disappeared into oblivion leaving behind a beautiful rainbow. Everyone cheered at this sign. The sign of Team Cruel's ultimate defeat.

_~Transition~  
>~Reona's POV~<em>

After the smoke cleared, all that was left was...a Shiny Tentacool flopping on the floor.

"So you're Cruel..." I said as I approached it.

"How...How could I lose? I had so much power...but I still lost! How was I beaten!" Cruel...no, Ito shouted.

"Its called Love, Cruel. You were not worthy of being a god because you had no love for anyone," I told him. "You're just...a weakling. You always have been."

Arceus suddenly appeared and glared at the small Tentacool.

"The crimes you have commited, Ito, they shall not go unpunished. There is only one place for a troublesome pest like you," Arceus said, opening an empty dimensional hole. "Limbo."

"No... No! No! Not Limbo! Anything but this!" Ito shouted as he was picked up by me and forced inside the infinite dimension. "NOOOO!"

The portal closed as he tried to escape.

"There is no crueller punishment than to have to live an eternity alone in a dimension where nothing exists," Arceus said.

I smiled at Arceus brightly, as she did to me. We bowed to each other before Reshiram and Zekrom appeared.

"Shall we, Arcy?" I asked.

"Let's," she said.

I got onto Reshiram's back and rode her back to the mainland. As I did, I took a glimpse at the East. Everything was living again, even the Pokemon.

"Thank you, Reona!"

"Come again anytime!"

Everyone of the East cheered for me. I guess they were cursed into living in the darkness, but were freed once I bested Cruel. But there was still one thing left...

_~Transition~_

Everyone stood behind me and Zoro, all with sad faces. It was...time for me to leave. Giratina, by Arceus' command, opened a portal leading back to my world. I stepped toward the portal before stopping in front of it. I turned to Jun to see him, who despite being sad, smiling at me.

"Arceus...must I truly leave?" I asked the Goddess. "I have made so many new friends and I don't wish to leave them. Especially..."

"Hmhmhm. I thought you knew the answer to that, Reona," Arceus said, confusing me. "The decision has always been your's. But will you stay?"

I smiled and said nothing. I walked toward Jun and simply stared into his eyes. With no simple warning, I kissed him on the lips, surprising him greatly.

After disconnecting I said with no care of the crowd around us, "I'm staying."

Everyone, including the Legendary Pokemon, cheered incredibly for me. The last thing I could actually remember was being carried off back home where we all party at our biggest victory.

_~Transition~  
>~Kizone's POV~<em>

I looked at the partying house with Gyoria by my side,smiling as Reona had her good time. Gyoria and I, now satisfied by the result, rested our spirits and truly drifted off into the afterlife with Kramzak, Duro, and Javaline.

"Goodbye, Reona... And have a nice life," I said, looking back and smiling.

The sun shined bright...bright with a new future.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The end...?<strong>_


	28. Credits

**Reona, Zoro, Cruel, Toxic, Maria, Kizone, Hira, Linda, Brenda, Ty, Miss Lass, Kiora, Iliza, Eleca, Kaddry, Fetroa, Atocio, Centa, and Gyoria are all copyright of Shadow Master Kizone**

**Bandit, Kumo, Sala, Kala, Ebro, Mischief, Fubuki, Stretch, Brute, Javaline, Kramzak, Duro, and Bullet are copyright of Coli Chibi**

**Jun is copyright of wishbone23**

**Ethereal is copyright of TheFirstPkmn**

**Soara and Crystal are copyright of Psychic Writer (as of now) **

**Any others I might have overlooked also belong to the respective owners.**

**Pokemon franchise belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak.**

**All music that I listen to while writing these belong to their respective owners.**

**I hope you enjoyed this...really long story. I really enjoyed writing it. I'll be seeing you guys 6 years in the future (by story standards) with a new plot, new villians, and new heroes. See ya then.**


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